Women who have sex at least once a week are the ‘happiest’ in their relationship, according to a new study.

Scientists found 85 per cent of women who had a weekly romp were ‘sexually satisfied’, according to a study of nearly 500 heterosexual women. 

In contrast, only 66 per cent of wives and girlfriends who had sex once a month reported the same level of relationship bliss.

And the figure fell to 17 per cent among those women who had intercourse less than this.

Author of the new study Alexandra Janssen, a researcher at the University of Manchester, said the findings show the importance of regular intimate relations. 

‘Women having sex less than once a week were far less likely to be satisfied in their sexual relationships,’ she told The Sun. 

‘Therapists working with women to improve their sexual relationship satisfaction might focus on increasing the frequency of sex.’

Ms Janssen’s study also found that women who rated sex as ‘very important’ had happier love lives than those who did not.

Of the women surveyed, just over half described themselves as being ‘sexually satisfied’ (stock image)

She said: ‘It seems unlikely that low self-rated importance of sex causes low sexual satisfaction. That may cause women to rate the importance of sex as low as a coping strategy.’

Other findings from the study, published in the International Journal of Sexual Health, found that of the women surveyed those aged 18-24 were most likely to report being sexually satisfied.

In contrast, women over the age of 45 were the least likely to report being happy with their intimate relationship.

Satisfaction was also higher for women who reported more regular orgasms and rated sex as an important part of their life. 

The study was based on a survey of 483 women from New Zealand who had been in a committed relationship within the past year. 

The authors noted their study did have some limitations.

One was that being a survey, there was no way to verify if what the women reported was true.

Another was that the group of women surveyed was not very diverse, which could limit the scope findings to other groups. 

YouGov figures reveal that six in 10 Britons have sex less often than once a week. 

One in 10 claim to have sex weekly, and 15 per cent claim to be sexually intimate more often.

Regular sex doesn’t just boost your mood, multiple studies have concluded that it is great for our overall health, and can even potentially help us live longer. 

A study by Michigan State University found women aged between 57 and 85 who still enjoyed sex were less likely to have high blood pressure, reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Similarly, a study by Indiana University found women with healthy sex lives produce higher levels of antibodies, which can help fight off infections.

Another 2013 study, by UK-based neuropsychologist Dr David Weeks, found that regular intercourse can make you look younger. 

He questioned more than 3,500 people about their sex lives over 10 years. 

Results revealed those who have regular, healthy sex lives look up to seven years younger than people who do not get intimate two-to-three times a week.

Dr Weeks concluded that this was due to the release of feel good chemicals that released during intimate moments that boost circulation and reduce stress, as well as the production of human growth hormones, which promote skin elasticity.