FANCY A CUDDLE? Contrary to conventional opinion, it turns out that men believe that cuddling and caressing is more important than women in a long-term relationship.

In a new study published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior, researchers studied the responses of 1,009 couples between the ages of 40 and 70 who had been in together for an average of 25 years in the US, Brazil, Germany, Spain and Japan in what was said to be the first study to look at sexual and relationship parameters of middle-aged and older, committed couples.

Researchers found that men were more likely to be happy in their relationship and that frequent kissing or cuddling was an accurate predictor of happiness for males.

However women were reported to be happier as time went on in a relationship. The findings also showed if a woman had been with their partner less than 15 years they were less likely to be sexually satisfied but that percentage rose significantly after the 15-year mark.

Among the interesting findings on a country-by-country basis were that Japanese men were more than twice as sexually satisfied in their relationships than any other nationality that was surveyed.

Japanese and Brazilian women were also more likely than American women to be happy with their sex lives.

Julia Heiman, the director of Indiana University’s Kinsey Institute, who helped carry out the research told Reuters: “I was a little surprised [by the findings]. Some of the stereotypes we have are borne out of what we feel comfortable believing – that men prefer sex, or women prefer intimacy over sex, for example.”