Men! Share daily chores to enjoy more and better sex

The men with the broadest smile on their face may actually be toiling a little harder than you. Researchers have found that those men who offer fair contribution to household chores enjoy more frequent and better sex.

In fact, according to the research, a man's helping hand in doing the daily household chores also improves the sex life of his female partner.

"Rather than avoiding chores in the hope of having more sex, as prior research would imply, men are likely to experience more frequent and satisfying passion for both partners between the sheets when they simply do their fair share," said researcher Matt Johnson from the University of Alberta in Canada.

A previous study found that when men perform what is regarded traditionally as female housework, things like doing the dishes, cooking and laundry, the couple had less sex.

For the new research that contradicts the previous study, Johnson pored over data from a five-year study of 1,338 German couples to see if the amount of housework the male partner did was a predictor of a couple's sex life.

He also looked at men's perception of whether they made a fair contribution to housework, and how that was related to their sex life.

Johnson found that when men perceived their contributions to the division of labour as fair, the couple engaged in more frequent sex and both male and female partners were more satisfied with their sex life.

He added that the findings are important for couples seeking to maintain sexual intimacy while balancing the demands of daily life.

The findings appeared online in the Journal of Family Psychology.