Sex As A Sleep Promoting Behavior – What Is It And How Does It Work?
The science behind sex as a sleep promoting behavior is that following orgasm, the body produces hormones such as oxytocin and prolactin, which may provide pleasurable and calming emotions.
A team of researchers headed by Michele Lastella from Central Queensland University in Rockhampton, Australia, performed a cross-sectional survey to investigate the association between sexual activity and subsequent sleep in the general adult population.
Seven hundred and seventy-eight volunteers (442 females, 336 males; mean age 34.5 years) consented to complete an anonymous online survey at leisure.
The primary goal of this research was to investigate the perceived association between sexual behaviors, sleep quality, and sleep latency in the general adult population and to see if there are any gender differences.
When reporting sex with a partner or masturbation (self-stimulation) with an orgasm, there were no gender differences in sleep (quality and onset) between men and females.
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These findings were reported in the journal Frontiers in Public Health.
How Does Sex Affect Sleep?
Sexual activity may often help you sleep better.
Following an orgasm, the body produces hormones such as oxytocin and prolactin, which may provide pleasurable and calming emotions.
Sex also lowers cortisol levels, which are related to stress.
According to research, these hormone changes might promote sleepiness and make falling asleep easier.
This impact may occur during both masturbation and intercourse.
Around half of both men and women report that masturbation orgasms help them fall asleep and enhance their sleep quality.
Sex with a partner may heighten this hormone reaction and promote emotions of closeness and connection that are conducive to sleep.
In heterosexual couples, research has discovered that this impact is stronger in males than in women, which corresponds to a widespread societal stereotype of men falling asleep rapidly after sex.
When both partners have orgasms during sex, the difference in tiredness becomes statistically insignificant.
As a result, the link between drowsiness and sex for males in heterosexual relationships may represent a differential in pleasure and orgasm obtained during sex with a partner.
Perceptions Of The Relationship Between Sexual Activity And Sleep Factors
The majority of participants (78.8 percent) who answered the shame and honesty indicators at the end of the survey considered the questions about sex and sleeping mildly (21.9 percent) or not at all (62.2 percent) embarrassing.
A tiny percentage of those polled said they were very (2.1 percent), very (5.4 percent), or somewhat (8.5 percent) ashamed.
With a mean honesty score of 99.5, 37.2 out of a possible 100, these sentiments did not seem to impact the honesty of replies.
There was a noticeable difference in men's and females' estimates of sleep quality, especially after sex with a partner.
There were significant gender variations in perception of sex with a partner and its influence on future sleep quality and latency.
A more significant percentage of males reported improving sleep quality and sleep after sex with a partner.
The cause for the difference between males and females was not investigated in this research, although the gender gap in orgasm frequency might explain it; men are more likely to orgasm during sex with a partner than women.
However, the phrasing of the survey question about sex with a partner may not have fully caught the complexities of this circumstance and should be examined in future research.
Sex Before Sleep With And Without Orgasm
Many respondents reported improved sleep quality and onset when they had sex with a partner before bed.
There were considerable gender inequalities in this impression, with male respondents (66.3 percent) outnumbering female respondents (59.1 percent ).
The majority of men and women said that orgasm enhanced their sleep quality.
Masturbation Before To Sleep
The proportion of individuals who thought masturbation enhanced sleep quality (48.2 percent) and sleep onset (44.7 percent) was lower than the percentage who believed sex with a partner increased sleep quality.
There were no gender differences in judgments of the influence of masturbation on sleep quality or the beginning of sleep with or without orgasm.
These results essentially confirm the findings of Brissette et al., who found no gender differences in sleep outcomes due to solitary masturbation.
People Also Ask
Why Do Men's Moods Change After Ejaculating?
Oxytocin, widely called "the bonding chemical" or "love hormone" since women experience it both after sex and during maternal activities such as delivery and breastfeeding, may produce relaxation in males, leading to the blissfully unaroused condition following ejaculation.
Why Do We Need To Have Sex?
A healthy sexual life is excellent for your heart.
Sex, in addition to increasing your heart rate, helps maintain your estrogen and testosterone levels.
"When any of them is low, you start to experience a lot of issues, including osteoporosis and even heart disease," Pinzone explains.
Having sex more often may help.
Why Do Men Sleep After Sex?
"After the climax, a man's bodily chemistry alters," explains David McKenzie, a sex therapist in Vancouver.
"Prolactin, a biochemical, is produced, physically changing his body and making him exceedingly fatigued."
Does Sex Make You Want To Sleep?
When you orgasm, your brain produces a mix of neurochemicals that exhaust you. "During sex, the brain produces oxytocin, which increases desire and excitement," Laino said to INSIDER.
"However, as it wears off, it might leave folks feeling exhausted."
Conclusion
Orgasms with a partner were linked to a positive assessment of sleep outcomes; however, orgasms produced via masturbation (self-stimulation) were linked to a favorable opinion of sleep quality and latency.
These data suggest that the public associates sexual activity with orgasm with better sleep outcomes.
Promoting safe sexual activity before bed might be a unique behavioral technique for improving sleep.
