On average, Italians who live without TV in the bedroom have sex eight times a month. This drops to an average of four times a month for those with a TV, Dr. Salomoni found after her team of psychologists questioned 523 Italian couples.

Something else this proves: Telling sexologists the intimate details of your sex life has replaced going to Confession for many Italians.

The study found certain TV shows are even less sexually stimulating than others. “Violent films will put a stop to sexual relations for half of all couples,” the study says. I’m not surprised (and somewhat relieved) to hear that violence is not a turn-on for half of all Italian couples. But what about the other half? They’re watching people getting shot and stabbed as foreplay?

We haven’t had a TV set in our bedroom for almost 10 years, and I’m proud to report that we’re up there with the No-TV Italians, getting nookied one way or another around 12-15 times per month (though H would probably say it’s less). Of course, we do have a TV in our bedroom in Cannes, but most of the shows are in French, so maybe that doesn’t count. In any case, we tend to have slightly more sex in France, though hardly ever with the TV on.

Not to turn the Dr. Salomoni’s study on its head, but I also have a bed in my TV studio. I’ve had lots of sex there. Which makes me wonder… What about couples with webcams in their bedrooms?