A recent study has revealed watching porn isn’t the bedroom buzzkiller many of us have been led to believe. (Can I get an Amen?)

Yes, watching porn can create problems in a relationship—especially if he doesn’t so much dabble as he does cause himself carpal tunnel with a side of chafing—but problems in the bedroom? Not so much, say researchers.

A recent study from UCLA and Concordia University has found watching porn doesn’t equal bad news for your sex life after all, but may in fact be linked to enhanced male sexual responsiveness. (Phew.)

The study, published in the journal Sexual Medicine, studied 280 male participants who watch porn from zero to 25 hours a week. (Yep, hours.) The men also completed a questionnaire that measures levels of sexual desire. One-hundred and twenty-seven of the participants had regular partners and completed the International Index of Erectile Function—a questionnaire that rates their experience with erectile function.

Finally, they watched a video of a man and woman having sex and reported their level of arousal. “Many clinicians claim that watching erotica makes men unable to respond sexually to ‘normal’ sexual situations with a partner,” UCLA neuroscientist and study co-author Nicole Prause said in a statement. “That was not the case in our sample.”

Researchers found no relationship between watching porn and post-porn ED in men who are sexually active, and in fact suggest the opposite: That watching porn leaves men more sensitized to legit sexual encounters. “When we analyzed data from prior studies, we found that the men who had watched more sex films at home were more aroused when they watched sex films in the lab,” said Prause.

ED, therefore, is not a result of your guy rubbing one out (make that several) to Bonnie Rotten, but is likely caused by the usual suspects such as performance anxiety, poor health or a side-effect of substance abuse.

The study also put the kibosh on the widely-thought belief that watching porn causes addiction and ruins relationships. “The study participants represent a good cross-section of men that view porn on a regular basis,” Jim Pfaus, Concordia professor and study co-author said in a statement. “The fact that doing so increased their arousal to the erotic stimuli should cause clinicians and sex therapists to rethink their attributions.”

So the next time you catch him fisting his mister with your favorite moisturizer, try not to harbor any hard feelings (sorry, had to). His porn habits won’t get in the way of your nookie. If anything, it’ll make sexy time even more fun—especially if he learns a few new tricks along the way.

How has his watching porn impacted your sex life?

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Image: Kissing photo via Shutterstock

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