According to a new study published in The Journal of Sex Research, conscientious, plan-ahead people appear to have more satisfying sex lives. This makes sense considering the fact that other research shows anticipation is highly dopaminergic. In other words, as Dr. Robert Sapolsky (a professor of Biology and Neurology at Stanford University) explains, dopamine is not so much about pleasure, but the anticipation of pleasure. I think it can increase desire for your partner.
I won't post it here, as to not distract from the linked article, but If interested, you can see the scientific evidence on anticipation in the informative 5-minute YouTube video titled Dopamine Jackpot! Sapolsky on the Science of Pleasure.
What has been your experience?
Planning does not build anticipation for me. I don't get turned on by command or schedule. I build anticipation when the mood strikes, through special looks and body language.
@VictoriaNotes Not very often, no. I've mostly gone from long relationship to long relationship. We were together most of the time, not just the occasional date. I hate schedules and structure in general, so that could be a factor.
The mind is the best sex organ.
For me, the best sex and most shattering orgasms come from being completely opened up to a man: emotionally, mentally and physically.
This only happen when I feel safe (emotionally, physically and mentally). Building trust takes time. That's why I don't do casual sex.
The anticipation and the seduction leading up to sex is highly erotic and maddening...engaging the mind before the body even gets involved is what I look forward to the most...well almost the most...second most...
I agree with the build up. Foreplay is everything most of the time. Most women need a little more time to get there and that is good, because it makes the experience last longer. I'm all for starting at one end of you and working my way to the other end of you, and then work my way back to the middle of you.
Hey, I like a good impromptu bang as much as the next tart, but I'm an even bigger fan of showering before hand, brushing teeth, not having a full belly/bladder/other, being adequately rested, not having a headache or back ache, both people being in the mood, etc. Sometimes you have to plan it or all those dirty little stars just won't align...
Love your opening line !?
Mindfulness makes everything better, at least that's my experience. Sex is not an exception.
Hot-blooded passion certainly feels good, unfortunately the chemicals can also overpower some and numb their brains.
But when men and women are mindful, they can think about what they're doing, they can be choosy about who they share their pleasures with, while also ensuring that their partners are equally satisfied with the process and the outcomes.
Like many people, especially men i'm guessing from the women i've spoken with, i didn't find out about such realities until i had experienced the opposite one dismal weekend after my last one-night stand ever.
The realization which brought me to my senses came in my late 20s, motivated me to become celibate for a few years, giving me the space which enabled me to bring my compulsive and often raging passions under control. From then on, love-making became more satisfying than it had ever been before. And it still is when i find the right person to share the joy.
Sex is mot satisfying and incredible when you care more about your partner's pleasure, and love them, that becomes one's passion.
Similarly, one wants to be with a partner that loves them so much, they want to being you as much pleasure as possible.
The two are synergestic, and create the most exciting, joyful, creative sexual pleasure that's far beyond the length or power of an orgasm. In fact, if can indeed lead to incredible orgasms.
Best sex comes from the undivided attention to your partner, foreplay is a lot more than physical actions.
The trick to good planned sex is to leave enough time between making the plan and seeing it through. This anticipation time is foreplay as others have said. The more you hint at the wonderful times you plan to have with each other the more fun when the time comes. I read about the same anticipation effect for vacations, in that study it was found that people generally had more enjoyment from the anticipation of the vacation than the actual vacation. Try not to think of it as planning like you do for a work project, think of it like a vacation plan. All the fun things you want to get in. Doesn't really matter if you do all the things that were talked about just have a good time enjoying one another once the moment finally happens!
As long as the anticipation time isn't the only foreplay happening. Foreplay is important no matter how old the relationship is.
So, partners with whom I've had consistently planned sex, it was typically less hot blooded, lust/need, breaking bras passion sex, but was consistently more satisfying and a generally healthier relationship. On the other hand, the individual encounters of fucking a hot blooded lion who needed me now and wasn't afraid to break a bra, were off the charts. Unhealthy relationship, less satisfying overall (not everytime was like that, but the times that were... Amazing!). So, if the question is what leads to a more satisfying sex life? Planned sex with a partner that knows all of your spots. Otherwise, spontaneous hot blooded lust gets my vote.
I've had good and bad times with each of those, so it's hard to give just one answer.
It's between the ears. Know your partners ears ????
And a passing familialarity with the female central nervous system.
I havent had anything other than planned sex so Im not sure how it compares to spontaneous, but I can testify to the fact that dopamine is more tied to anticipation than pleasure in the moment; usually the best part of my day is imagining what Im going to have for dinner when I get home ? “The suspense is terrible; I hope it’ll last.” -Willy Wonka.
according to my experience the best sex happens in anticipation of the spontaneous, indulgent & outrageous act.
I think a mixture of planned and spontaneous. If it's all planned it could become like an appointment and therefore lose some of its sizzle -- ask couples who are trying to conceive, Leaving it to spontaneity with the busy lives people leave could leave you without for an extended time. So mixing it up seems to wori.
I have found neither truly satisfying, however I did find planned anticipated was less unsatisfactory than spontaneous.
I think if it were a serious committed relationship where we were both happy and I knew I was valued and loved, I might have even....enjoyed it to an extent
Great sex doesn't even start with foreplay , it starts with how you make one another feel about themselves all the time . You can't treat a person like shit all day long , then expect to have great sex , because well it's date night , and you owe it to me . Great sex starts with the concept of mutual respect , mutual admiration , from a person who is worth giving that to you .
I have experienced both. There are times when I am just horny as hell and so is my partner and we go at it without any notice and it is a peak bliss which satisfies on many levels: instant gratification, acceptance and desire by your partner, an itch that got scratched at the right time, etc., etc.. Other times, planning and scheming and talking about it builds up the desire and expectation so that the event itself is almost incidental to the pleasure. I can't say that either one is definitively better, because both have wonderful merits.
Both spontaneous and planned work for me and Dan.
I know I need a slow build, with each partner focusing on each other's needs. If it's quick and immediate, it tends to end as quickly as it started and be very unsatisfying. Kind of like having fast food rather than a gourmet meal.
@VictoriaNotes I was going to comment on that myself. That seems like a no brainer. Having someone who tries to satisfy you tends to make you feel satisfied.
@VictoriaNotes Yup.