Date nights spent playing board games or painting together spices up a couple's sex life, according to new research.

Sharing the activities could make Valentine's Day go with an even bigger bang, say scientists at Baylor University.

Creating art or taking each other on at Monopoly, cards, checkers, chess, puzzles, dominoes or even word games boosts production of a chemical called oxytocin - known as the 'hugging hormone' as it's released during love-making.

Interestingly men wielding their brushes released twice as much as women - or couples doing the games.

Shared activities like board games or painting ramp up the production of oxytocin, the 'love hormone' involved in bonding, Baylor University scientists found

Assistant professor of child and family studies Dr Karen Melton at Baylor University in Texas, said: 'We were expecting the opposite - that couples playing the board games would interact more because they were communicating about the games and strategies, or because they were competing, and with more interaction, they would release more oxytocin.'

This is because it's linked to bonding and family cohesiveness, she said.

The team also expected painting couples would be more attentive to the instructor and to the canvas than to their partners.

But art class participants instead reported more partner-touching than couples playing board games.

Dr Melton said: 'Typically, an art class is not seen as an interactive date with your partner.

'But sometimes couples that were painting turned the activity into a bonding time by choosing to interact - putting an arm around their partner or simply saying, 'Good job.''

Meanwhile, the others were split into two groups of five couples who participated in painting classes at a community art studio.

They painted a simple beach scene with their initials in the sand. The art instructor had prepared the canvases to reduce interactions between each couple.

Oxytocin levels were measured by taking urine samples before and after the activities.

The participants also completed a survey that revealed their familiarity with the activities and communication, touch and eye contact with their partners during the sessions.

The physical interactions took place without prompting and lasted briefly.

This differs from other studies in which participants have been asked to perform specific actions as cuddling, hand-holding or massage - sometimes for an assigned period.

Dr Melton said: 'This has implications for the everyday family - to find those small, meaningful ways to interact when they're eating dinner together or going for a walk or doing homework with a child or sitting on their couches with their iPad.

'While, yes, this advice is simple, we also have to make sure we're doing the hard work.

'This is the hard advice - we have to make time for our families if we want to have families.'

Dr Melton and Professor Boccia are now planning to explore further what role the environment may play in oxytocin release.

Share or comment on this article:

Playing board games can spice up your date nights by releasing more 'love hormone'