Couples Have More Sex By Ditching The Diary

June and July are the months when Facebook sees most relationships end – not good news for those happily settled with a partner in crime.

But a new study has revealed the secret to keeping your relationship intact (on AND offline) couple be simpler than you'd think.

Just chuck away your diary.

This and showing more spontaneous gestures of love and affection can boost your sex life by 33 per cent, according to a study by lastminute.com.

It's hardly surprising. After all, clearing your diary to spend time with the person you love is more likely to lead to sex than going to the pub with your mates after work and rolling in at midnight, ready for bed.

The research suggests that so-called ‘planned spontaneity’ is the key to a successful relationship – essentially ditching the Filofax for fun and seizing the moment with your partner.

Not rocket science.

Thirty British couples were involved in the project that lasted for two weeks. For the first week, couples lived their relationships normally and for the second week, psychologist and sexpert Jo Hemmings devised a plan that included specific 'unplanned activities' and impromptu romantic gestures.

And presumably the couples also spent the week avoiding meeting up with friends, cancelling after-work events and leaving all those boring household chores until after the experiment was over.

The unexpected gestures of love led to twice as much intimacy (namely kissing and cuddling) as well as the amount of couples having sex daily quadrupling. But then, clearing your calendar and agreeing not spend all evening catching up on Game of Thrones can do that for you.

The number of couples not having sex at all halved – while communication levels between couples increased, as did happiness and confidence between the pairs.

Somewhat comically, men’s stress levels increased by 21 per cent when they had to do the planning of these 'spontaneous' activities, while women’s anxiety levels decreased by 20 per cent when in organiser mode.

But when men ARE spontaneous, it’s totally worth it. A full 100 per cent of the women in the study said they felt more loved after their partner surprised them.

In practical terms, it seems that as much as women hate to admit it, the secret to a happy relationship is when the bloke takes the reigns.

That way, the pressure’s off for the woman to do all the organising and instead they get the ‘planned spontaneity’ of a romantic trip or gesture.

But there could be a another explanation.

Yahoo Lifestyle's Deputy Editor Kim Hookem-Smith, who's been with her fiance for 10 years, is dubious of the whole idea.

"If I 'ditched my diary' I wouldn't even see my boyfriend. We're both busy and between work and socialising with different friendship groups, entire weeks can go by where I only see him when I creep into bed after a night out and try not to wake him up - or vice versa.

"We have to schedule in couple time - just blocking off an evening to do something together, even if we don't know or care what it is."

What Kim does find interesting in the study is the evidence that when men make plans, women are happier.

"Most women I know, myself included, are control-freak, organisation machines. I plan 99 per cent of the things we do as a couple and you know what, it would be great to let go and be organised for occasionally.

"Spending more unspecified time together and being more spontaneous probably would do us good, but to do that I'd have to schedule it in my diary...

"I get the irony!"

But whether you’re glued to your Filofax or taking it day by day, every relationship is different and what works well for one pair might be another couple’s worst nightmare.

What do you reckon? Are you more of a planner or a ‘play it by ear’ type couple? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter, @YLifestyleUK.