Study Claims Women who Get Better Sleep have more Sex

According to a new study, if you are a woman who wants to have more sex, make sure you get better sleep.

For this study, researchers led by Dr. David Kalmbach recruited 171 female college students, who filled out questionnaires about sexual problems, depression and anxiety. After the questionnaires, the participants were instructed to keep a diary for 14 days. They had to record their sleeping habits and their sexual desire and activity the following day.

On average, the participants slept 7 hours and 22 minutes per night. The team discovered that women who slept more hours have a greater desire for sex. The researchers found specifically that for each additional hour of sleep that women in romantic relationships get, their chances of engaging in sexual activity with their partner increased by 14 percent. Women who slept more also reported greater vaginal lubrication during sex than women who slept fewer hours.

"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 Dr. Kalmbach said in the 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 added that sleep in general can improve all aspects of people's physical and mental health, which is why people should strive to get more sleep every single day regardless of sexual distress or activity.

Dr. Kalmbach said, "The message is that sleep health is important for many areas of our daily living. Good sleep has been shown to improve mood, energy, concentration, overall health, and, now, sexual desire and arousal."

Dr. Nathaniel F. Watson of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine noted that although the study's findings are "compelling," he warned, "You have to be a little bit cautious about drawing any conclusions from this because it is just an association study."

The study was published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.