The secret to amazing sex life is to plan ahead

Have you always been swooned by romantic throes of passion seen in films or have been stirred by the sudden outburst of lust written in books like Fifty Shaes of Grey? Forget them. A new study now finds that for most people, there's nothing sexier than efficient forward-planning.

According to the research, scheduling a time and date in advance is the key to keeping the spark alive between the sheets.

Scientists conducted interviews with almost 1,000 couples to reveal the key to a satisfying sex life is to be 'thorough and dutiful' with your planning.

Scientists found those who schedule it in and make sure they're ready on time are less likely to feel unfulfilled or inhibited during the act, the study found.

The study, conducted by researchers from Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany looked into the sex lives of 964 couples, most of which were heterosexual.

Researchers asked the couples to rate how easily they could be aroused, how inhibited they were, and whether they had any issues around sex.

The were also asked to place where they and their partner fell on the Big Five personality framework – openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.

In the questionnaires, the researchers defined conscientiousness as being efficient and organised, rather than easy-going and spontaneous.

'Conscientious individuals reported better sexual function,' researchers wrote in the study, which was published in The Journal of Sex Research.

The research found, men who rated themselves as conscientiousness were more likely to want to satisfy their partner sexually, which in turn led to 'better sexual function of their partners'.

He added, “High conscientiousness can be especially beneficial when it comes to putting effort into a satisfying sexual life, or to postpone one's own needs and interests to focus on resolving a sexual problem within the context of committed, long-term relationships.”

On the other hand, women 'whose partners were sexually inhibited reported lower sexual function,' the researchers added.