5 Ways Good Sex Can Save Your Relationship

Good sex can save your relationship ... and it isn't so much of a mystery as to how!

Sex can be as much a part of healthy relationships as communication, honesty, and other forms of physical and emotional intimacy are, which is why having a great sex life can help you rescue your relationship from a bad place — or keep it from getting there altogether.

Having sex can make your bond with your partner stronger than ever, so if you want to learn how to save your relationship when it's crumbling, look no further than your sex life.

But can your relationship, one that is really struggling, one in which you no longer laugh and the closeness has disappeared, really be saved?

Yes! Sex can save your relationship, even if you're not having a lot (or any) of it right now.

"Wait," you say. "What? No way. I am not having sex with them.”

Yes, you can. And yes, you should!

Here are 5 benefits of good sex that can save your relationship, if it's struggling.

1. Sex creates an intimate connection.

Sexual intimacy is one of the key signs of a healthy relationship. Sex between two people who care about each other is about connection — intimate non-verbal connection. In many ways, it's the most important kind of connection because it is purely organic.

When two people are struggling in a relationship, it can be difficult to connect verbally without making a mess. But the act of holding hands and kissing, of touching and pressing your bodies close, can allow connection without words — connection that is, in many ways, more effective than talking.

So try it. Try the touching and the kissing and the rolling around. It just might open things up between the two of you in a life changing way.

2. Orgasms release feel-good chemicals.

Did you know that when you have an orgasm, your body is flooded with dopamine, a chemical that makes you feel like you can take on the world? And the effects of that dopamine last for hours.

Imagine how it would feel for you and your partner, freshly connected and flooded with dopamine, spending time together. Pretty great, no? Maybe it will help you remember why you fell for each other in the first place!

3. Having sex is fun.

Sex is fun. It just is. And funny.

Think of all of the fumbling and nakedness and gymnastics. The rolling around, trying to fit together. Chemicals flowing freely. It's almost impossible not to smile and laugh and be happy.

And there is no better antidote to a struggling relationship than some happy times together.

So try it. You might find yourselves smiling together. Wouldn't that be fun?

4. It's a great way to make up and reconnect.

Really, is there anything better than make up sex? Two people, emotions heightened in conflict, coming together in a powerful way. Clothes flying everywhere. Tables wiped clean of plates. Passionate only begins to describe it.

And really, how can you stay mad at each other after such an encounter? You are reconnected, the dopamine is flying, you are laughing so hard your sides hurt, and you certainly are no longer angry.

Try ending your conflicts with a little make-up sex. You might find you move past things just a little more quickly.

5. Good sex boosts relationship satisfaction.

This is one that I don't even want to mention, but it is a key piece of how sex keeps a relationship going strong.

When cheating and affairs happen, most people don't go out looking for someone else. Normally, a "someone else" just appears, out of the blue. And what you do when that someone else appears depends on just how satisfied you are in your relationship

Regular great sex in a relationship generally means that a couple’s sexual needs are being met. And, more often than not, their emotional needs as well because the two very often go hand in hand.

And if a couple is satisfied in their relationship there is no need to go elsewhere, even if the prospect arises.

So have lots of sex. And keep it in the relationship. Keep temptations at bay.

I know that when relationships are struggling sex can be the last thing on your mind. The prospect of firing things up with someone you can barely look at seems absurd.

But try it. Really try it. Give yourself over to the passion, the connection, the fun and the orgasms and get back in touch with how you first felt with each other.

Armed with that feeling, you both can take on anything and learn how to save your relationship together.

Mitzi Bockmann is a NYC-based certified life coach and mental health advocate whose writing has been published on The Huffington Post, Prevention, PsychCentral, Pop Sugar, MSN, and The Good Man Project, among others. She works exclusively with women to help them to be all that they want to be in this crazy world in which we live, so email her and get started today!