Research finds 5.4 minutes is average time couples have sex from penetration to ejaculation

Brendan Zietsch, a University of Queensland research fellow, sought to know how long it takes couples to have sex. He found the answer in a study, published in PubMed, which asked 500 couples around the world to use a stopwatch over four weeks whenever they had coitus.

The participants were asked to press “start” the moment the penis started to penetrate and to “stop” after he ejaculated. The method measures the intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) that the study established at an average of 5.4 minutes.

But the range was quite wide, beginning at 33 seconds and ending at 44 minutes. Although the researchers were able to calculate an average time, they conclude that there is no normal amount of time to have sex.

The counting excludes foreplay such as kissing, rubbing, grinding and other things couple do before the actual penetration. The measurement of IELT is increasingly used in clinical trials to assess the amount of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor-induced ejaculation delay in males with premature ejaculation.

The 500 couples were from The Netherlands, UK, Spain, Turkey and the US. The study enrolled men who were 18 years old and above, in a stable heterosexual relationship for at least six months and engage in regular sexual intercourse.

Condom use and circumcision status were also taken into account in the study. The research found the two factors did not affect the time of the IELT. By nationality, Turkish men tended to ejaculate faster compared to American, British, Dutch and Spanish men. Age also is linked to the IELT time, the older the couple was, the shorter the sex, reports Herald Sun.

Zietsch also cites a 2013 study which explains why it takes men a period of time before they ejaculate. The research, by scientists from the State University of New York’s Department of Psychology, who used artificial penises, vaginas and semen (corn syrup), found that the ridge of the penis’s head scoops out pre-existing syrup from the vagina.

It suggest repeated thrusting’s function is to displace the semen of other men before the male ejaculates to ensure his sperm reaches the egg first. It also explains the pain if the man continues to thrust after ejaculation since the act risks that he would scoop out his own semen.