--- title: Casual Sex and Hookups Are Good for You, NYU and Cornell Study Says description: According to a new study from NYU and Cornell canonical: https://time.com/2917281/casual-sex-is-good-for-you-study/ author: Samantha Grossman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-24T14:46:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:11:06.069Z og:title: Casual Sex Is Good For You og:description: According to new a study from NYU and Cornell og:url: https://time.com/2917281/casual-sex-is-good-for-you-study/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9bc25546ad9211df/698688aae8524b5cfd6022b0/453221523.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Couple feet og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Casual Sex Is Good For You twitter:description: According to new a study from NYU and Cornell twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9bc25546ad9211df/698688aae8524b5cfd6022b0/453221523.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Casual Sex Is Good for You, According to Your New Favorite Study by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Jun 24, 2014 2:46 PM UTC  Love LoveGetty Images by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Jun 24, 2014 2:46 PM UTC Turns out that no-strings-attached sexy times are good for you, so don’t let the haters stop you [from doin’ your thang](http://37.media.tumblr.com/tumblr%5Flw70lm3i8o1r790gdo1%5F500.gif). A recent study conducted by researchers from NYU and Cornell dispels the popular notion that casual hookups — defined as sexual activity outside the context of a romantic relationship — will leave you with low self-esteem and depression. The research, [published](http://spp.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/06/03/1948550614537308.abstract) in the journal _Social Psychology and Personality Science_, involved a group of NYU students who kept a weekly diary over the course of 12 weeks documenting any and all adult snuggles — and the effect those instances had on their overall well-being. Sociosexually unrestricted students reported higher well-being after having casual sex compared to not having sex, the researchers found. Also, those who were sociosexually unrestricted reported lower stress and greater overall emotional health after casual sex. (This is … maybe not super surprising.) Although past reports have shown that women are [less likely than men ](http://healthland.time.com/2013/11/11/no-satisfaction-woman-are-less-likely-to-orgasm-during-casual-sex/)to orgasm during casual sex, this particular study showed few overall differences between genders. The study’s authors explained that “the effects of casual sex depend on the extent to which this behavior is congruent with one’s general personality tendencies.” So, in other words: if you want to have casual sex, you definitely should. If you do not want to have casual sex, you shouldn’t. The main takeaway of this study? 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