It’s a topic that many people feel uncomfortable with: anal sex.
Some readers might think it’s something extreme, or, to put it mildly, extremely niche.
But according to sexual health experts, the intimate act can put a strain on your love life or even mark a breaking point in your relationship.
MailOnline asked three experts about the adventurous habits Brits should avoid to prevent their relationships from falling apart.
However, you could take relationships to a whole new level.
Cindy Gallop, campaigner and founder of MakeLoveNotPorn, a platform that debunks myths about hardcore pornography, told MailOnline that asking for ‘something the other person doesn’t want to do’, usually anal sex, is often the culprit.
“Worse still, nagging about it,” she added.
‘Men want anal sex. But you can’t have anal sex if your partner doesn’t want to try it.
“You won’t get it by begging her, claiming ‘everyone does it’ or sending her anal porn videos.”
The intimate act can involve anything from external touch to penetrative anal sex with a finger, sex toy, or penis.
Instead, Ms Gallop advised partners to ‘focus on her pleasure’ in order to ‘be able to have anal sex’.
She told MailOnline: ‘Make every bedroom session revolve around her orgasms, in every creative way you can think of.
‘Make sure that the sex you have is all about her and that you give her so much pleasure that she is more and more open to new experiences together.
“This is also important because first-time anal sex is something you have to work towards.”
According to Gallop, one sexual behavior could be “transformative for relationships”: filming.
“I can tell you from 11 years of testimony that filming your own sex in the real world is transformative for relationships and the bond between partners, for a number of reasons,” she said.
‘If you decide to film yourself having sex, you need to talk about it.
“When you talk about it, no matter how long you’ve been together, the conversation can go in a different direction than ever before.
“Couples write to us and tell us that we thought we were being open, but this has taken our relationship to a whole new level.”
Ms Gallop also told MailOnline: ‘There’s nothing off-putting about having a sexual relationship with someone where there’s mutual trust and respect. It could be a casual relationship or it could be a serious one.
Unfortunately, something can scare you if you were raised to believe it is “wrong.”
‘For too many people, that applies to sex as a whole.’
Sex, and intimacy in general, has been linked to a range of health benefits, including better heart health, lower stress, and even better mental health.
But recent trends show that prudish Brits aren’t having as much sex as they used to.
According to a survey of 2,000 adults by the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) earlier this year, men and women play an average of just 46 times a year, or once every eight days.
Research published this week also found that nationally, only 55 percent of Britons reported having sex at least once a week – 59 percent of men and 51 percent of women.
London residents scored well above the national average, with 67 percent reporting having a romantic relationship at least once a week.
However, other experts warned that there are no specific ‘mistakes’ Brits make in the bedroom that automatically ruin relationships.
They claim that there is actually no such thing as a standard sex life.
Annabelle Knight, sex and relationships expert at Lovehoney, told MailOnline: ‘One of the biggest mistakes people make in the bedroom is thinking there is a ‘right’ way to have sex.
It’s easy to worry about performance or doing something “wrong,” but remember that sex is about connection and pleasure.
‘There’s also a lot of pressure to have more sex, but honestly it’s about quality, not quantity.
“Communication is key. If you’re not talking about what feels good or what you want, you’re missing out on a big part of the experience.”
“There is no magic number when it comes to how much sex is too much. It really depends on the people involved and what feels good for them.
“Some couples are perfectly happy with sex once a week, while others may want it more often – or less.”
She added: ‘Selfish actions are a sure way to damage a relationship.
‘If you only think about yourself during sex and don’t take your partner’s pleasure into account, your intimacy can deteriorate.
“Skipping the ‘foreplay’ and going straight to penetration can also be a turn-off, although this happens more often than we might think.”
According to sexual health experts, one intimate act can put a strain on your love life or even mark a breaking point for your relationship
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Nationally, 55 percent of Britons said they had sex at least once a week, compared to 59 percent for men and 51 percent for women.