You know that smug feeling you get when you’ve been getting some?
That “I just got laid” smirk which creeps across your face on your morning commute, even though it’s smooshed into the smelly armpit of man in a polyester suit (your face, I mean).
It’s this feeling:
And it has a name… Sexual afterglow.
According to a new studied published in Psychological Science, for up to 48 hours after doing the deed, the deed-doer will feel higher levels of sexual satisfaction. A spring in your step, if you will.
We know sex is needed for reproduction (thanks, ‘Where did I come from?‘) and clearly, it’s fun but what this new research shows is that it also serves another, super science-y, purpose.
The “afterglow” is linked with long-term relationship satisfaction.
“Our research shows that sexual satisfaction remains elevated 48 hours after sex,” lead author of the study Andrea Meltzer writes. “And people with a stronger sexual afterglow — that is, people who report a higher level of sexual satisfaction 48 hours after sex — report higher levels of relationship satisfaction several months later.”
“And people with a stronger sexual afterglow — that is, people who report a higher level of sexual satisfaction 48 hours after sex — report higher levels of relationship satisfaction several months later.”