5 things that kills sex drive in women

4. She’s just not that into you (anymore).

Women’s desire may fade as a relationship goes on, according to a study published in 2012 in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy. Researchers polled 170 heterosexual men and women who had been in relationships for between one and nine months. They found that although most participants reported feeling satisfied with their relationships and sex lives, women reported lower levels of desire related to the length of their relationships. SEE ALSO: 15 causes of painful sex in women 

Specifically, the researchers found that for each additional month women were in a relationship with their partner, their sexual desire decreased by a small amount — 0.02 points on the Female Sexual Function Index (a self-reporting tool that helps scientists study female sexual arousal, pain, satisfaction and orgasm). This finding did not hold true for men, whose sexual desire remained steady over time.

“When an individual has had sex with their partner over the course of many, many years, it takes creativity and openness to keep things fresh and exciting, Sarah Murray, one of the sex researchers who conducted the study at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, told Live Science. “Making time to be together and keep one’s sex life as an important part of one’s relationship is very important, and putting in effort and keeping things fun and interesting are crucial components.”