The key to a long relationship: Be responsive to partners outside bedroom

The most important thing to keep in mind if you want to keep the sexual attraction alive in long-term relationships is to be responsive to each other’s needs outside the bedroom.

The most important thing to keep in mind if you want to keep the sexual attraction alive in long-term relationships is to be responsive to each other’s needs outside the bedroom. A new study, by American and Israeli scientists suggests, women reacted more strongly to ‘responsiveness’ than men, but males also felt the benefits, reports the Independent.

Relationship experts say that partners who are responsive to each other outside the bedroom are able to maintain their sexual desire.(Shutterstock)

A hundred couples kept a diary for three weeks for the study and reported on the sexual desire they felt for their partner, in addition to their perceptions of how responsive their partner was. The results, which found sexual desire increased along with responsiveness, were reported in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

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According to Gurit Birnbaum, a psychology professor at the Interdisciplinary Centre in Herzliya, Israel, who co-authored the paper, “Our research shows that partners who are responsive to each other outside the bedroom are able to maintain their sexual desire.”

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Responsive partners, who are aware of their companion’s emotional needs, demonstrate a high level of understanding of their spouse and are thought to have deeply invested in a relationship. “Responsiveness, which is a type of intimacy, is so important in a relationship because it signals that one is really concerned with the welfare of the other, but in a way that is truly open and informed about what the other cares about and wants,” Birnbaum said.

“Sexual desire thrives on increasing intimacy and being responsive is one of the best ways to instil this elusive sensation over time; better than any pyrotechnic sex,” he added.