A new study showed that getting a good and sufficient amount of sleep is likely to increase the sexual desire of women by at least 14 percent.
Researchers at the University of Michigan had 171 women participate in a 14-day sleep study. The participants were given diaries where they can write the number of hours of sleep they had during the night and whether they had sex with someone the following day during the study period. The women slept for an average of 7 hours and 22 minutes.
The findings showed that those who slept longer experienced greater sexual desire and better genital arousal the following day. The researchers computed that for every hour of additional sleep, a woman increases her likelihood of sexual activity by 14 percent.
"The influence of sleep on sexual desire and arousal has received little attention in the field, but these findings indicate that insufficient sleep can decrease sexual desire and arousal for women," study lead author David Kalmbach, a researcher at the University of Michigan Sleep and Circadian Research Laboratory, said in a press release. "I think the take-home message should not be that more sleep is better, but that it is important to allow ourselves to obtain the sleep that our mind and body needs."
The researchers believe that further study is needed to determine the relationship between sleep and sexual desire. Kalmbach is thinking that sleep might be affecting the hormones related to sexual desire, and that is an area that can be the next focus of another research.
The findings of the study can be useful in reinforcing the importance of getting sufficient amount and sleep, especially for couples who are experiencing sexual problems.
"IT there's anything women or their partners can do to help promote good sleep for one another, whether it's helping out around the house to reduce workload, planning romantic getaways, or just practicing good sleep hygiene, it could help protect against having problems in the bedroom," Kalmbach told HealthDay News.
The study was published in the March 16 issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine.
