Have you ever wondered if sex can potentially impact your sleep? In adults, sex and sexuality are essential components of health. Sexual health encompasses more than just physical well-being; it includes emotions, relationships, and overall quality of life. Orgasm, whether from sex with a partner or masturbation, has been shown in studies to help you sleep better. The relationship between sex and sleep is bidirectional, which means that sleep affects a person’s sex life, and on the other hand, sex affects sleeping patterns.

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Longer periods of sleep have been linked to increased sexual desire and arousal, while sleep deprivation can reduce these feelings. Erectile dysfunction may also be more common in men who work shifts that disrupt sleep or suffer from certain sleep disorders. While there isn’t enough solid clinical evidence to suggest that sex makes you sleepy, experts say the basic underlying mechanics of the chemicals released during sex may aid sleep.

It has a lot to do with the hormone ‘oxytocin’ (commonly known as the ‘love hormone’), among other things. Oxytocin is said to be released in response to feelings of affection and affectionate or sensual touch, resulting in the sense of pleasant well-being and stress relief. Sleep has a wide range of effects on one’s well-being. It’s a pillar of health that’s essential to nearly every bodily process and system.

How Does Sex Affect Sleep?

Sexual activity can often help you sleep better. The body releases hormones, such as oxytocin and prolactin, after an orgasm, which can cause pleasurable and relaxing feelings. Sex also lowers cortisol levels, which are linked to stress. These hormonal changes can make it easier to fall asleep. Both masturbation and sex can cause this effect. An orgasm from masturbation is said to help men and women fall asleep and improve sleep quality by around 50% for both men and women. Sex with a partner can heighten this hormonal response and promote feelings of closeness and intimacy, both of which are conducive to sleep.

When both people experience orgasm during sex, however, the difference in sleepiness becomes statistically insignificant. As a result, the link between sleepiness and sex in heterosexual relationships may reflect a disparity in satisfaction and orgasm experienced during sex with a partner.

It’s not just sex with a partner that makes you sleepy after an orgasm. Better sleep has also been linked to having an orgasm through masturbation in studies. However, while having an orgasm usually aids sleep, many people have the opposite experience. After sex with a partner or masturbation, they report taking longer to fall asleep and having poorer sleep quality.

How To Improve Sexual Health for better sleep?

Improving your sexual health, including having regular, satisfying sex, can help you feel better and sleep better. Any concerns about sexual health or sexual dysfunction should be discussed with a doctor. While many people are hesitant to bring up these topics, speaking openly and honestly about them with a healthcare provider is beneficial. Addressing sexual performance or satisfaction issues, testing for sexually transmitted infections, reviewing ways to practice safer sex, and ensuring that sexual relationships are healthy are all examples of ways to improve sexual health.

Sex therapy can help some couples improve their intimacy and sexual fulfilment by providing practical advice. Although there are many general tips for better sex, working with a professional can include valid, evidence-based approaches to cultivating a more rewarding sex life. Even though both sleep and sex play an important role in overall health, their relationship is frequently overlooked. So, next time when you go to sleep, consider asking your partner for satisfying sexual intercourse.

You can also go for options to satisfy your sexual desires like sex toys – masturbators, dildos, vibrators, anal toys, flashlights, sex dolls etc.