How an Orgasm Can Improve Your Sleep

For many people, the correlation between sleep and orgasm is quite strong. Men, specially, will fall asleep a lot faster than women after engaging in sexual intercourse. The correlation between sleep and sex is still a debate but there are a few coincidences that cause the former to happen after the latter.

Coincidences between Orgasm and Sleep

First of all, most sexual activities happen at night, usually in a bedroom, which means the environment for sleeping is already set. Not to mention, sex can be physically tiring for the couple and with that combination you have the perfect recipe for a good night’s sleep. Second of all, there has been research that proves an orgasm releases tension, which makes the person calm and they let go of all fears. The lack of anxiety and feeling of calmness is a natural remedy that can help you ease into sleep.

The Orgasm’s Biochemistry

During ejaculation, men experience a combination of chemical reactions, such as serotonin, oxytocin, norepinephrine, nitric oxide, and prolactin. All these hormonal ingredients together create a feeling of sexual satisfaction. The period between ejaculation and recovery time (the time before he can go again) is the most sleep inducing period. The same is true for women, though their recovery time is much shorter.

Out of all the hormones that are released post-orgasm, prolactin is the sleeping inducing hormone that creates a feeling of tiredness. Researchers find that the levels of prolactin are high when a person is in deep sleep and thus, the link between orgasm and sleep is found to positively correlate. Researchers also find that prolactin levels are much higher after sexual intercourse than after masturbation, though the underlying reason is yet to be discovered.

Evolution Has Made It So

This might be a far-fetched theory, but evolution has a part in the correlation between sleep and sex as well. The primary goal of all mankind has always been to survive, which in turn means to reproduce as many times as possible. Sleeping really isn’t helpful if you are planning to reproduce at an accelerated pace, but the recovery time becomes a hindrance. For this reason, sleeping after sex to re-energize is the best way to be sexually ready again.

Women, on the other hand, don’t really go through a “recovery time” but they stay beside their man for when he would be sexually ready again. So, this might be a reason to believe that women feel sleepy after sex as well, because they are keeping their partner company.

In a nutshell, there are biochemical and evolutionary reasons that cause sleepiness after sex, though a more solid reason has yet to be found. There is ongoing research where participants engaged in sexual intercourse at different times during the day. All couples were found to have higher levels of prolactin and most claimed that they felt sleepy and tired. Thus, the connection between orgasm and sleep is undeniable, though we have yet to find out why.


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