In life, there are a couple universal truths that stand the test of time: Peanut butter tastes better with jelly. A bike ride on a brisk fall day is always a good idea. And, yes, dry spells happen to the best of us. But about that last one: Even though you may have heard that having a longer party of one means that your vagina could become “tighter,” experts say that this is actually not the case. At all.

“Many people falsely assume that women who have less sex have ‘tighter’ vaginas, and women who have more sex have ‘looser’ vaginas—but this is just a complete misconception,” says women’s health specialist Jennifer Wider, M.D.

The reason you can rest easy if you’re in a dry spell is rooted in the fact that the muscles in your vagina are elastic.  “They contract and go back to their normal shape after sexual intercourse and also after childbirth,” says Wider.

That said, there are two times in life when your vagina does change shape for a longer amount of time. The first? After childbirth. “Some studies have shown that the vaginal muscles can take up to six months post-delivery to get back to their normal shape and size,” says Wider. But still, they do.

The other time your vagina changes is as you get older. “As women age, their hormone levels drop, which means the vaginal walls thin out and become less elastic, so the muscles may get looser,” says Wider. “The good news is that the tone of the muscles can be improved by Kegel exercises, no matter the age of the woman."

Conclusion: If it feels like your vagina is tight during sex, it’s not because you recently went through a dry spell. “It’s more likely that you are not properly aroused and more foreplay is in order,” says Wider. Check out these tips on how to have more fun with foreplay and how to prolong your pre-play to have the best sex ever.