Why Britain is in a sexual slump

British people are having less sex than at any other time in the past 20 years, a newly published clinical study reveals.

Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) found that nearly a third of men and women have not had sex in the past month - up from around a quarter in 2001.

Yet nearly two-thirds of men and half of women said they wanted more, according to a paper on the study published in the British Medical Journal.

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The scientists analysed data from more than 34,000 men and women aged between 16 and 44 who had previously completed the National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles in 1991 (Natsal-1), 2001 (Natsal-2) and 2012 (Natsal-3). Both opposite-sex and same-sex intercourse were included in the data.

Fewer than one in six people overall reported having sex ten times or more in the previous month in 2012, says CNN. In 2001, just over one in five people said the same.

However, the general decline in frequency was less marked among single people. Among men under the age of 25 who were not in a relationship, only 43.4% reported getting no bedroom action in the previous month in 2012, compared with 50.3% in 1991.

Lead study author Professor Kaye Wellings says that “several factors are likely to explain this decline”, and notes that the most affected group are what she calls the “U-bend”, or “sandwich”, generation.

“These are the cohorts of men and women who, having started their families at older ages than previous generations, are often juggling childcare, work and responsibilities to parents who are getting older,” Wellings says.

Experts believe other factors may also be at play. Here are the key reasons cited for the drop-off in sexual activity:

Technology

One significant event that coincided with the decline was the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, The Guardian reports.

“In an era of constant phone use, there may be too much going on to get around to having sex,” says the newspaper.

Backing that theory, Wellings adds: “I can see that the boundary between the public world and private life is getting weaker. It’s porous.

“You get home and continue working, or continue shopping or buy tickets – everything except for talking. You don’t feel close when you are constantly on the phone.”

The study findings suggest that increasing use of social media has also resulted in increasing experience of “virtual”, as opposed to real-world, sexual encounters.

Pace of life

Wellings believes the “sheer pace of modern life” may be another reason why many people are having less sex.

Indeed, the researchers argue that this is the “most compelling among the explanations”, given the age and marital status of the people most affected, and relates to the “stress and busyness” associated with juggling work, family life and leisure.

“Life in the digital age is considerably more complex than in previous eras,” the study paper adds.

Peter Leusink, a GP and sexologist from the Radboud University medical centre in Nijmegen, Netherlands, said that the downturn in sexual activity may “conceal problems such as depression, poor physical health and relationship problems, which have all increased since the 1990s”.

Recession

Another major event that coincided with the drop-off was the worldwide recession of 2008-09.

According to the study authors, men and women in better physical and mental health report having sex more frequently, “as do those who are fully employed and those with higher earnings”. This suggests that the financial hardships caused by the recession may have triggered a decrease in the frequency of sex among couples.

However, The Guardian suggests that this “may not be such a big factor”, as the decline over the years was “apparent in the most and least affluent groups” studied.

Attitudes

The other explanation offered by Wellings is the shift in societal attitudes regarding sex.

“It could be that sex is just settling down and we’re not making such a fuss about it,” she said. “After the sexual revolution, there was a ‘should’ about it – you should have sex.”

The researchers also suggest that recent trends in gender equality mean that women may now be “less inclined to meet their partner’s sexual needs irrespective of their own”.

And as the BBC notes, “social pressure to over-report sexual activity may have eased” too.