The first study helped develop a measure of sexual nostalgia. In a second study of 619 people, nostalgia for intimacy with a current partner was associated with greater sexual satisfaction; the association depended on patterns of romantic attachment and was stronger among people with insecure attachment. This does not prove that memories themselves improve relationships. Memory is not an exact recording of the past, either: we often hold on to the moments that mattered emotionally.
You can use a memory not as a script to repeat but as a clue: what felt valuable then — safety, playfulness, attention, novelty? And what would you like to be different today? The past does not have to become a benchmark. It can help you name a desire you might gently discuss in the present, while leaving room for new sensations and change.