Sex and sleep are closely related. First off, they’re the two most pleasurable things we do in our beds. Second, whether we wake up to sex or pass out after sex, sleep is usually a part of the equation. Third, they’re both often initiated by watching a little Netflix, all cozied up.
But a new study by alarm clock application Sleep Cycle shows that sex has way more of an impact on our sleep than we thought, and it affects men and women differently. The study surveyed more than a thousand U.S. adults to find out how much they know about their circadian rhythms (sleep cycles), how to protect them, and how they’re affected when interrupted. Only about 39% of Americans even knew about their circadian rhythms, and only 58% of that group cared enough to actively protect them. Within the group that cared, 71% of men and 52% of women said they sleep better after having sex, and a third of men and a fifth of women actually have sex in order to sleep better.
This makes complete sense, seeing as how physical exercise often tires a person out. What many might find surprising, however, is that men are slightly more likely (23% vs 20%) to turn down sex altogether if it might interfere with their sleep. Perhaps this is why, as the study reports, 34% of women struggle with insomnia as opposed to only 21% of men. Looks like the ladies need their dose of good lovin’ to get their rhythms right (circadian, that is).
