Popular fantasy might suggest that we need to have hours of sex in order to be satisfied, but is that actually true? A study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine in 2005 looked into intravaginal ejaculation latency time among 500 heterosexual couples from five different countries. Now intravaginal ejaculation latency time might sound like a complicated term, but basically it just means how long penetration lasts, so foreplay doesn’t count as sex under that definition.

Having gathered survey answers from all the couples involved, the researchers noted that sex duration varied significantly, lasting as little as 33 seconds in some cases or as long as 44 minutes. But they were able to work out that the average duration was 5.4 minutes. A lot less than some people might think!

Is 5.4 minutes really long enough to have satisfying sex though? How long does foreplay last then? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

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