Sleep and Sex: The Statistics That Show You Need To Look After Your Sleep

We know sleep is important for our health and we know that a poor sleep can affect all areas of our lives. Did you know just how much a poor sleep can affect your sex life? The statistics are damming and give you only more reason to sleep better tonight, and every night!

• People who experience trouble sleeping often develop elaborate routines over time, these routines make them very sensitive to anything they think might threaten their sleep, and one of the things that can disturb sleep is a bed partner. This can lead to sleeping in separate beds or bedrooms and usually this simple change is the start of all the problems for the relationship, and this is just one issue.

• Allison Siebern from Stanford University Sleep Medicine Centre, says sleep-deprived men and women report problems with sex.“Lack of sleep can lead to low energy, fatigue and sleepiness,” says Siebern. “This may affect libido and decrease interest in sex.” Robert Thayer, from California State University believes that the combination of low energy and increased tension caused by lack of sleep — a situation he calls “tense tiredness” — can also lead to sexual dysfunction.“People who experience tense tiredness are too anxious to relax,” Thayer says. “Tension and anxiety are very basic to sexual dysfunction most of the time. That increases as energy decreases.”

• Men with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) commonly report low libidos and sexual activity. This may be because OSA may be associated with lower testosterone levels in some men.

• Sleep loss can make you moody, easily irritated and frustrated, and these can impact your interactions with their partner. “As people are increasingly sleep starved, they suffer from lack of energy late in the afternoon or evening,” Thayer says. “They become more vulnerable to tension, anxiety and stress at those times.”According to the Sleep Disorders Institute, people with insomnia say they have a difficult time dealing with even minor stress and it is these stresses that strongly impact our ability to have nourishing relationships.

• Researchers from University of Michigan Medical School concluded from a recent study that every extra hour of sleep women received made them 14 percent more likely to engage in partnered sexual activity. More sleep equalled more sex.

• A study by the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), found that after one week of sleep deprivation (less than 5 hours of sleep a night), young men had 15 percent less testosterone than normal. This is damming considering that’s the amount of testosterone loss that occurs with 10 to 15 years of aging.

• Many studies indicate that a lack of sleep can lead to failure to maintain an erection for males.

• The 2010 Sleep in America poll found about 20-30 per cent of men and women felt their family life and sexual relationships had been affected by their sleepiness.

Sleep is essential for good health. Sleep is as essential for good health as oxygen, food and water. Sleep is essential for sex and establishing and maintaining healthy, nourishing relationships. Sleep plays an important role in how you feel. But it is not just the morning after a bad night’s sleep that we feel bad, a poor sleep affects both short –term and long-term health and everything in between. Take control of your sleep tonight, if you want to enjoy sex and good relationships, it is simply a necessity.

(Image courtesy of www.dailymail.co.uk)