Sex professor named six high ideas for a greater love life in 2026
A professor has gathered her top tips from teaching about sex for 15 years to help us all have a better time in the bedroom in 2026, including her science-based advice on the ‘magic frequency’
Science has some surprising tips for better sex in 2026, including how often couples should make love and how often they should aim for ‘novelty’ (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Her sex tips make Dr Nicole McNichols’ classes the most popular classes at her university. But now you don’t have to take her course on human sexuality to gain from what she’s been sharing with students for 15 years.
Her new book ‘You Could Be Having Better Sex’ gathers insights from all her years of research at the University of Washington to give you a great sex life, following her practical advice backed by science.
Do you know how often you should be making love with your partner? How often should you should aim for novelty in the bedroom? How you can tell whether casual sex works for you? Science has some answers that might surprise you…
The sex boffin’s key messages are condensed into six handy lessons in an interview the academic gave to the New York Times, giving you the vital principles for a fabulous time between the sheets in 2026.
The professor thinks we need to focus more on pleasure this year. She wants us to communicate more with our partners, through sighs and moans as well as words. Couples should aim to make love every week and try out something new every month.
Casual sex, she reckons, can be great for women as well as men. But we all need to know what we want and go for it. Here are the rest of her top tips for better sex this year…
Understand the importance of pleasure
While we’ve grown up in a “very puritanical culture that treats sex like dessert”, research shows that positive emotions and pleasure are crucial to our well-being and our ability to think creatively, to solve problems, to broaden our perspectives, and to seek out sources of social support.
Because sex is important and most of what we’ve been taught about it is probably wrong, we need to “start over”.
Say what you like before and during sex
Dr Nicole McNichols suggests we have a “handful of phrases” we feel comfortable using in the bedroom. We should ask ourselves the best way to explain what we want, what turns us on. We can use phrases like “Guide me” or “Show me.” Or we can also use sighs and moans, which not only communicate pleasure but also help us experience it.
Couples should aim for once a week
Couples often ask the professor about the “magic frequency”. The answer is once a week. It’s fantastic if couples have sex more, but the benefits for well-being don’t increase.
Sex doesn’t need to be spontaneous, either. A study found that planned sex is just as fun as spontaneous sex.
Introduce ‘micro-novelty’ on a regular basis
Novelty doesn’t need mean a trip to a sex shop for leather and toys. It’s enough to have sex in a different room, on vacation, at a different time of day, with all the lights on or off. Data shows that couples who try to do something new once a month or more tend to be satisfied in their relationship.
If you want casual sex, understand why
Casual sex is great if that’s really want you want. If you’re doing it but really want something deeper, you might get bad results.
When you poll people about their last sexual experience, a third of people say it was really unsatisfying, a third say it was awesome, a third say it was a little bit of both.
While you might expect men to enjoy casual sex more, a study found women enjoy it just as much if they have an orgasm.
Know what you want and go get it
The professor wants us to “own our pleasure”. She advises us to show up, assert our needs, communicate and have a mutually pleasurable experience, taking that responsibility into your own hands and knowing that you have the power to do it.
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