Getting enough sleep is important for the promotion of sexual desire in college women, according to new research.
The pilot study of 171 women found those who obtained more sleep on a given night experienced greater sexual desire the next day.
“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,” said David Kalmbach, lead author of the Journal of Sexual Medicine study. “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 participants in the study were recruited from psychology courses at a Midwestern university, and completed surveys upon waking each morning over a 2-week period.
The researchers found each additional hour of sleep increased the likelihood of sexual activity with a partner by 14 percent. Sleep was also important for genital arousal, such that women who slept longer on average experienced fewer problems with vaginal arousal than women who obtained less sleep.
“Though the specific underlying mechanisms are presently unknown, it appears that sleep loss begets poorer sexual desire and reduced sexual activity,” the authors of the study explained. “Further, women with chronically insufficient sleep may be at greater risk for genital arousal difficulties, though one night of sleep loss appears to lead to short-term improvement in genital arousal the following day.”
“To our knowledge, the comorbidity between insomnia and female sexual dysfunction has not been studied. Based on our findings, the potential etiological role of insomnia in female sexual dysfunction may present a largely untapped and potentially rich area for future investigation.”
