Study nails down ideal duration for sex

A new study pegs the ideal duration for intercourse at seven to 13 minutes. But sex therapists say couples should keep the stopwatch out of the bedroom.

Guys, relax.

Good sex needn't last all night. In fact, experts now say it shouldn't drag on longer than an episode of
Sex and the City.

The best sex, according to new research published Wednesday in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, lasts a whopping seven to 13 minutes, plus a little foreplay.

The study, based on a survey of 33 qualified Canadian and U.S. sex therapists, found that one to two minutes of intercourse for a heterosexual couple is “too short,” three to seven minutes is “adequate” and 30 minutes is “too long.”

The study could help to “prevent sexual disappointments,” the authors wrote, because it helps undo unrealistic expectations about marathon sex that are often perpetuated in the media and films.

A new study published Wednesday in The Journal of Sexual Medicine asked qualified Canadian and U.S. sex therapists what they thought was the ideal duration for intercourse. Researchers calculated the medians for several variables.

Too short: 1.25 minutes

Adequate: 4.91 minutes

Desirable: 8 minutes

Too long: 19.96 minutes