Women Want Two Hours of Romance Per Day

Love comes first, but socializing and the Internet aren't far behind.

By Kristin Wong Oct 23, 2012 3:35PM

According to new research, women want romance in their lives more than anything else. But they do have a time limit for love. Specifically, researchers found that the average woman prefers to spend exactly 106 minutes on romance each day.

Researchers from the University of Bremen and the Georgia Institute of Technology sought to find how the average woman would spend a "perfect day." Romance topped the list.

The study's authors, Sebastian Pokutta and Christian Kroll, interviewed 900 women with an average age of 38. They asked those women about their daily activities and how they felt about them. The researchers explained:

"Our research asks what a perfect day would look like if we take into account the crucial fact that even the most pleasurable activities are usually less enjoyable the longer they last and the more often we do them."

Kroll, whose research focuses on "happiness, social capital and quality of life," told MSN's The Heart Beat:

"The study can be used as a starting point for rethinking how we prioritize our time in order to achieve the most happiness. Of course, it does not seem advisable to run around with a stopwatch all day trying to meet the proposed schedule. But the results can provide food for thought about what it is that matters in terms of well-being, especially for women, which might be interesting for men, too."

In addition to the 106 minutes of romance, women wanted to spend 48 minutes on the Internet and 82 minutes socializing. Relaxing took up 78 minutes of the perfect day, followed by 75 minutes of eating and 68 minutes of exercise. Sounds like a decent day to me. Minus the exercise part, maybe.

Related: 50 Unique Engagement Rings

Women said if they could be completely hedonistic, they would spend 613 minutes with their partner, 103 minutes socializing and 74 minutes relaxing.

"Certain activities are attractive because we do them so rarely," researchers said in the paper, published in the Journal of Economic Psychology. "Scarcity can therefore be expected to be a central feature of why we enjoy intimate relations more than work."

Tell us on Facebook: What do you think, ladies – sound about right, or is that too much or too little romance?

Photo: Noel Hendrickson/Getty Images

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139Comments

Best

Oct 23, 2012 4:50PM

I'm guessing that romance doesn't include sex...otherwise more guys would comply.

Previous replies

oleshep

Oct 23, 2012 6:05PM

You never realize just how important your spousal contact is until you lose it. I have been a widower now for 4 years. Despite some effort and one false start I remain without a significant other. Yes, I miss the sex but more than that I miss having a place for my affection. Simple things like a hug and nibble on the neck while she is at the sink or perhaps folding the laundry are now lost to me. I miss them terribly.

She used to fiddle with the nape of my neck while I was driving and that is now a distant memory. Simply put I miss holding and being held. Nothing seems to replace it so life now is very very hollow for me. So to you young fellows out there take my advice. If you find a lady you love and she loves you equally in return realize how wondefu that is and do all that you can to protect and nurture it because when it is gone it is awfully hard to replace it.

Love and marriage is a lot like a tree. If you abuse it it dies or grows all bent and gnarly but if you protect and care for it it grows straight and tall and gets stronger as time passes. Sure in the beginning it is a little annoying to have to report in to someone but that is how a partnership works. It is just simple respect and courtesy for her and earns her devotion in return not to mention her trust which is a big deal in a romantic relationship. Once you have got that down pat you will probably do OK. LOL

Previous replies

Indy30

Oct 23, 2012 5:10PM

I just want a day to myself. I would be perfectly happy not having to talk with anyone! No work. No school. No dinner to cook. No problem to solve. Just pure relaxation without feeling guilty about it (if that is possible). That would be the perfect day for me.

Well, back to work...

Previous replies

Strangebird60

Oct 23, 2012 4:56PM

" I own you"? Hmmmm.....does this happen to you often? Your wife asking how long you were at the bar, who were you with, etc.? Why would she do that? Is it because she came home from work, started cooking dinner, trying to relax from her day over a hot stove while you went from work to the bar, relaxing from your day over a drink or two with friends, instead of coming home from work, talking to her about your day and her day while she cooks over a beer or a glass of wine? Thus showing her that the best part of coming home is that you are coming home to her, and the life you share together? Perhaps you should appreciate the things she does for you, as she should appreciate the things you do for her.

Maybe she's jealous that she didn't get to stop off and have a drink with the girls, because if she didn't cook, neither of you would have anything to eat (unless you ate out with your friends, and didn't tell her that you were going to, which means she could have grabbed something out as well, and didn't need to cook.)

Previous replies

Norwalk - Iowa

Oct 23, 2012 5:14PM

Talk about unneeded explanations. We like intimacy more than work because we do it more rarely? No. We like intimacy more because it is way more fun than work.

Previous replies

D.I.

Oct 23, 2012 5:18PM

Here is my own study. Women want men the way they were about 35 years ago. Confident, strong, polite, caring, would listen... But we killed that with PC. We need to put prayer/moment of silence back in school- not saying who you pray to, or if you need to pray- and we need to teach our kids about faith in depthly (coincidence that crime went up shortly after that was abolished; I think not). We need to put sex ed back in school- we need kids to learn how to protect themselves and not get preggo until they are truely ready (that way they will be an adult and know a bit more of what it means on how to raise a kid and have the means to) also give kids a chance to live their lives the way they want (kids having kids when they still want to live like a kid/non-parent don't raise kids, they just do what they have to to not get in trouble with the law). Kids need to have a pet like a dog or cat and not only feed them, but train them (animals learn the same way children do in the early years). And we need to teach kids how to toughen up and understand how to let go and deal with things (don't need to sue over everything nor do we need to always shoot someone because of a dispute).

Previous replies

yenko427

Oct 23, 2012 5:57PM

BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SUPPLY THE ROMANCE.JUST SO LONG AS SHE PROVIDES AS MUCH TIME FOR THE SEX

Previous replies

1Charly

Oct 23, 2012 5:30PM

I know its hard to believe but its always about what a women wants. Trouble is, they don't even know. Now men on the other hand, no pun intended, are deeply sensitive to what women want if they just knew what that was. We could just guess as we always have to do but we might be wrong and there goes the nooky!

Previous replies