The secret of good s3x: Saying 'I love you' during the act is the one thing most likely to leave you and your partner satisfied

Saying ‘I love you’ during sex is the thing that is most likely to make you and your partner feel satisfied.

A study has found that talking about love whilst in bed beats foreplay and wearing sexy lingerie to ensure you have a good time.

Some 75 per cent of satisfied men said ‘I love you’ whilst they had sex and 74 per cent of satisfied women did the same.

The study, one of the largest of its kind to date, involved an online survey which got tens of thousands of responses.

Scientists from Chapman University in the US analyzed the answers of 39,000 married or cohabitating heterosexual men and women who had been with their partner for at least three years.

The average age was 40 years old for women and 46 years old for men.

The results showed that the more a couple communicates during sex, the more satisfied they are going to be.

Things which improved love making included; praising your partner for something they did in bed and asking your partner for something you want.

Talking on the phone or by email during the day about sex also ensured that they had a good time in bed.

The most important factor in setting the mood among men and women was saying ‘I love you’, which was done by three quarters of satisfied men and women.

However the phrase was uttered by just 49 per cent of dissatisfied men and 44 per cent of dissatisfied women.

Other things that made sure you had good sex was laughing about something funny that happened whilst making love.

Talking on the phone or by email during the day about sex also ensured that they had a good time in bed (stock image)

The study also showed how couples stop having sex so much after the first few years of their relationship - and have to work to make it a priority.

Some 83 per cent of respondents said that they were satisfied in the first six months.

But asked how they were feeling now and only about half - 43 per cent of men and 55 per cent of women - said they were currently satisfied.

Of the rest 16 per cent of men and 18 per cent of women felt ‘neutral’ whilst 41 per cent of men and 27 per cent of women said they were not happy.