Modern life has left us all in a hurry, so much so, that some of us can’t even find time for sex.
A new survey reveals that sex for most British couples lasts for 19 minutes - but many of us would like it to last longer.
On average, the 19 minutes is made up of 10 minutes of foreplay followed by nine minutes of intercourse.
For just over half of couples (52%) sex lasts as long as they would like - but it is over too soon for 23% of men but 15% of women.
Because of time pressures, couples have to make do with a “quickie” around a fifth of the time (21%) they have sex.
The results are revealed in a new survey of 4,400 people by online sex toy retailer Lovehoney, for its Mind The Gap campaign to help more couples achieve shared orgasms.
It found that many couples would love to linger over sex for longer if they only had the time.
The optimum time for intercourse would be more than 30 minutes for 24% of couples, and two-thirds (66%) said they liked it to last at least 15 minutes.
Sex ends in a shared orgasm, where both partners climax together, around a third of the time in settled relationships.
The survey found that 89% of couples have achieved a shared orgasm with their partner during their relationship.
Almost four out of 10 couples (37%) share their orgasms at least half the time they have sex.
A shared orgasm is the peak sexual experience for 57% of men but fewer women (46%) feel the same way.
The researchers noted that could be because climaxing during intercourse is more difficult for women.
Three-quarters of men (75%) orgasm almost every time have full sex compared to only 28% of women.
And 61% of women said they sometimes found it difficult to orgasm during any sexual activity whereas only 24% of men experienced the same difficulties.
Having an orgasm is the main goal when having sex for 42% of men and 35% of women.
The survey looked at how couples achieve the often elusive “shared” orgasm.
In half of cases (50%), one partner tends to reach their “trigger point” and then waits for their other half to catch up so they can climax together.
A shared orgasm is a goal six out of 10 couples (61%) try to achieve regularly when they have sex. It is “never” a consideration for only 9% of couples.
Lovehoney launched its Mind The Gap campaign to promote ways that women in particular can achieve more orgasms during sex and close the gap with men - allowing more couples to share orgasms at the same time.
Lovehoney sex expert Jess Wilde said: “It is fantastic news that almost 90% of couples have achieved a shared orgasms at some point in their relationship.
“For around half of couples this is the absolute peak of sexual happiness, so we are always looking at ways to help them share orgasms together with greater consistency.
“For women, the key to orgasming easily is to have a strong and healthy pelvic floor, and there are simple exercises they can do to strengthen the muscles in this area.
“Men can play their part during intercourse by making sure they hit exactly the right spot to stimulate the G-Spot during penetration - this is at 27-degrees and sex pillows can help to get you both into the optimum pose for pleasure.”