What Are the Best Ways To Have Mutually Satisfying Sex?

That answer is different for every couple. "I would define the best position as the position that works best for the individual or individuals involved,” says Tameca Harris-Jackson, PhD, LCSW, a certified sex educator, sex therapist, and founder of Hope and Serenity Health Services, a counseling center in Altamont Springs, Florida. "Trying different sex positions actually offers an opportunity to bring different ways of experiencing pleasure into sexual intimacy and a sexual relationship,” Harris-Jackson says. “You can eat the same meal every day for 20 years but it doesn’t mean you’re going to get the most joy out of it. You’re just getting the nutrients. But if you try to add a little bit of parsley to that meal, you might taste it in a different way and it might become a more exciting meal. And that’s what having new positions in a relationship can do.”

There are nonphysical factors to consider, too. Take intimacy, for example. For many people, especially women, intimacy can lead to better sexual experiences because partners are comfortable and trusting enough to ask for what they desire and to try new things.

Many couples are figuring out exactly those benefits, according to research funded by the Kinsey Institute at the University of Indiana that examined sex during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

An online survey of 1,559 adults showed that while people had less frequent sex during the first weeks of the pandemic, they were more willing to try new things — which included sexting, sharing sexual fantasies, and experimenting with new sex positions. A commentary about the results was published in the June 2020 issue of the journal Leisure Sciences.