By Jane Mathews<\/span>
\n<\/a><\/a>COUPLES who marry the old-fashioned way \u2013 shunning sex until after the wedding \u2013 enjoy happier marriages, a study has found.
\nResearchers say delaying the joy of the wedding night not only results in better relationships but also improves sex itself.
\nThey asked 2,035 married couples how soon they first had sex after they first met.
\nThose who waited until the honeymoon were 22 per cent\u00a0more likely to say their relationship was stable, and\u00a020 per cent more likely to say it was satisfying.
\nThey also rated the quality of their sex lives 15 per cent above those who had sex before marriage, and were 12 per cent more likely to say they communicated well with their partner. Those who jumped the gun and had sex before marriage reported around half as much of the benefits, according to the US researchers.
\nStudy leader Professor Dean Busby, of the Brigham Young University in Utah, said: \u201cMost research on the topic is focused on individuals\u2019 experiences of sex and not the timing within a relationship.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s more to a relationship than sex but we did find that those who waited longer were happier with the sexual aspect of their relationship. I think it\u2019s because they\u2019ve learned to talk and have the skills to work with issues that come up.\u201d
\nHe said researchers had also found that couples who were not religious also reported having better relationships if they waited before having sex.
\nProf Busby added: \u201cRegardless of how religious a couple are, waiting helps the relationship form better a communication process and this improves long-term stability and relationship satisfaction.\u201d Texas University sociologist Mark Regnerus said the study showed that people should work on building an emotional relationship in the early stages.
\nHe added: \u201cCouples who hit the honeymoon too early \u2013 that is, prioritise sex promptly at the outset \u2013 often find their relationships underdeveloped when it comes to the qualities that make them stable and spouses reliable and trustworthy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Article courtesy: express.co.uk<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Image courtesy: Louisa Stokes\/FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jane Mathews COUPLES who marry the old-fashioned way \u2013 shunning sex until after the wedding \u2013 enjoy happier marriages, a study has found. Researchers say delaying the joy of the wedding night not only results in better relationships but also improves sex itself. They asked 2,035 married couples how soon they first had sex … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n