Sex makes us happy – except, of course, when it doesn’t. Yes, it might trigger the release of those famously feel-good chemicals, endorphins. But most sexually active women in their 20s and 30s will still have at least one tale to tell of an encounter that left them, once the initial rush had worn off, feeling a whole range of distinctly non-happy emotions: from unsatisfied and irritable to vulnerable, weepy and downright furious.

Examining exactly what kind of sex contributes to our broader sense of wellbeing, and why, has been the goal of a team of psychologists in Switzerland and Canada. They’ve just published their research in a series of studies in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin – and their findings suggest that it’s the affection that comes after sex that makes us happy in the long term.

Psychologists Amy Muise and Anik Debrot, who led the study, say that they wanted to move beyond the usual focus on the “physical or technical aspects of sex, such as experiencing physical pleasure or a release during orgasm”, and examine the impact of “relational aspects”, such as affection, on people’s mood.

Sex makes us happy because of what happens afterwards, study finds