Survey shows: This is how long good sex should last

13 – 14 – 21: For many Austrians, this is the ideal distribution of time in bed. In total, couples wish for more than three quarters of an hour for intimacy. The foreplay should last 13 minutes and the sexual act 14 minutes. Afterwards, people like to cuddle extensively: the interviewees let the lovemaking end for an average of 21 minutes.

wish or reality?

The total duration is 48 minutes, shows a representative study by Parship, for which 1022 Austrians between the ages of 18 and 75 were interviewed in June 2023. There is rare agreement between men and women: 47 minutes is perfect for women and 49 for men. “However, it is difficult to say whether the duration mentioned is not more of a wishful thinking than reality,” says Dania Schiftan, Sexual – and psychotherapist at Parship.

Singles like it longer

There are differences with regard to the relationship status: when singles think about good sex, it takes significantly longer than it does for couples. The optimal duration for single people is 61 minutes, while 43 minutes is sufficient for couples. It is above all the physical closeness afterwards, which should be almost twice as long at around half an hour: singles want to kiss for 29 minutes, for couples it is 17 minutes. But foreplay (16 vs. 12 minutes) and the sexual act itself (16 vs. 13 minutes) can also be longer for singles than for couples.

With age comes enjoyment

There are also nuances when it comes to age: in the 30 to 39 age group, the shortest cuddle time is 15 minutes, while other age groups prefer a longer end lasting 20 to 24 minutes. On the other hand, over 60-year-olds devote eleven minutes less time to the sexual act than younger people. For them, this should ideally last 16 minutes.

Graphic: How long does good sex ideally last?

“Depending on the stage in life, you expect something different from sex. Especially as you get older, you start appreciating other qualities in sex: the older you get, the more enjoyment, the encounter itself and the connection with other people are foreground. The ‘performance’ takes a back seat,” says Schiftan.

Are the Germans more persistent?

Compared to the Swiss and Germans, the Austrians are in the middle: German respondents strive for a particularly enduring lovemaking at 51 minutes, while the Swiss at 47 minutes can be somewhat shorter than in this country. In Switzerland, cutbacks are primarily made when cuddling afterwards. In any case, there is agreement in German-speaking countries about the duration of the actual act: between 14 and 15 minutes is perceived as the ideal time frame.