According to a new study from Oakland University, women who have an abundance of men in their life— co-workers, male fantasies, friends, etc.—have more sex with their boyfriends compared to couples in which the woman has less male friends.

Researchers claim it all boils down to a little something called “sperm competition”.

If you didn’t know already, male sperm is very competitive. In fact, if sperm from two different males ends up inside the same female, the little guys will actually fight each other to the end in order to be the first to fertilize the egg.

This competitive nature translates to the dating world, too, in that men have a physiological desire to fight off other men that are perceived as competition.

For instance, as the study states, if a man is watching porn, he will become more aroused and produce more sperm if he’s watching two men having sex with one woman, rather than two women having sex with one man.

Why?

Even though they’re only on screen and are of no real threat, those males are perceived psychologically as competition (or “sex rivals”), and, in turn, the body naturally produces as much sperm as physically possible to compete. This same theory rang true with the men in the study who perceived their partners to receive a lot of male attention from other men, a.k.a “sex rivals”.

“A lot of work shows that men are sexually aroused by their partner when they estimate a greater likelihood of partner infidelity,” Michael Pham, lead author on the study, explained. “This does not mean that men want their partner to cheat on them. Rather, this means that if they estimate a greater likelihood of their partner’s infidelity, then they may (subconsciously) want to have sex with her to enter into sperm competition.”

So Girls, fantasising about your male friends is something you could share with your boyfriend, as it could lead to very hot sex. Whilst not all fantasies are for everyone, it might be a good idea to go ahead with this fantasy only if you know that your boyfriend is open to it and is in the right mood. As with all fantasies, one should test our partner’s reactions before going ahead with it. Past jealousy issues might be a deterrent, it might be an idea to resolve these issues first. Inevitably, you are the only person who can decide whether this is a fantasy you can go ahead with.

Whether it makes the man of your life try harder at showing his worth or it is an instinct reaction at trying to be the alpha male it is irrelevant, as long as it ramps up the fun in the bedroom. This study might shed a whole new light into the fantasy of threesomes – especially MMF.

Ladies have fun meeting new guys and enjoy the attention you deserve from your main man too.

There you have it, if you’re dating a woman who has lots of men in her life, it may actually work out in your advantage. And the best thing about it, is that it makes us keep working at maintaining relationship satisfaction and enhancing our sex life.

So ladies, there you have it extra male attention can and will work in everybody’s favour.