Study: More sex, more money?

You might want to rethink faking that headache tonight.

A new study reveals that people who have sex four or more times a week making more money than those with less active sex lives.

The discussion paper was published last month by Germany's Institute for the Study of Labor.

Read the study in its entirety here.

"Those employees having sex more than four times a week receive statistically significant highest wages," researchers conclude.

"People need to love and be loved (sexually and non-sexually) by others. In the absence of these elements, many people become susceptible to loneliness, social anxiety, and depression that could affect their working life," study author Nick Drydakis, an economics lecturer at Angila Ruskin University in Cambridge, England, writes in an email to CBSNews.com.

Also see: Millennials might not be the hookup generation after all

Drydakis looked at data from demographic information of 7,500 Greek adults (26 to 50 years of age) that included stats on health status, sexual activity levels, employment status and income.

He found that subjects who had sex four of more times a week made five per cent more than those who didn't. Completely celibate study subjects made 3.2 per cent less than those who were having sex just once a week.

He noted that the more sexually active study participants also had lower rates of diabetes, heart disease and arthritis, and were more outgoing.

"It seems that we have to consider jointly the relations between happiness, sexual activity, productivity and wages," he says.

Drydakis cites a physiological theory called Maslow's Need Hierarchy. According to the theory, humans have to meet certain basic needs before they can attempt to succeed in other aspects of life. Sex is one of those needs.

"In the absence of these elements, many people become susceptible to loneliness, social anxiety, and depression that could affect their working life," Drydakis explains.

Also see: The secret to happiness: Keeping up with the Joneses...in bed?

Drydakis' study isn't the first of its kind.

"Earlier economic studies have proven that self-esteem, cognitive functioning and reasoning ability all correlate with income. The healthier someone is, the more money they tend to make," Rhenan Murray of the New York Daily News writes.

CBS News refers to a 2009 Brazilian study that "also showed a connection between higher wages and a more active sex life."

Of course, while Drydakis' study points to a correlation between sex and wages, but there's no proof of causation. Researchers point out that while sex is no guarantee of a bigger paycheque, a boost in income might help you get laid more frequently.

"Higher wagers may encourage some to adopt more sexually active lives. For instance, higher wages may increase the value of attractiveness of a person on the dating market; higher wages may increase purchase of gifts that are thanked for via sex," the researchers write.

So much for "money can't buy me love."

Even if having sex doesn't necessarily make you wealthier, here's a list of other great reasons to say yes to (safe) sex tonight.