It’s no secret that having sex before bed can wear you out, causing you to fall asleep easier. But there’s a catch: both you and your partner need to have an orgasm.
“This hormone among many other feel-good hormones has been said to act as a sedative to reduce the time it takes to fall asleep,” says Dr. Michele Lastella, a sleep researcher at Central Queensland University’s Appleton Institute for Behavioral Science in Adelaide, Australia, who recently found that a whopping two-thirds of people get better sleep after sex. But as The Advertiser (by way of Men’s Health) reports, this works best if both people achieved orgasms.
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Says Lastella:
The project is based on some preliminary research evidence that, after humans have sex and achieve orgasm, we have a massive release of a hormone called oxytocin. This hormone among many other feel-good hormones has been said to act as a sedative to reduce the time it takes to fall asleep.
He says if it’s a good night’s sleep you’re after, turn off your electronics and turn on your partner. If you didn’t already realize it, when you’re having sex, you’re not usually thinking about other things; you’re not distracted like you are on a mobile device.
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“Sex and sleep are among our most basic of needs and essential for our overall health,” he says, “so it’s interesting to find out to what extent they can have provide mutual benefits.”