Here’s yet another reason sleep is good for you: it improves your sex life. According to new research recently published in the Journal Of Sexual Medicine, women who slept more on average reported better overall genital arousal than women who habitually skimped on sleep.
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Even more interesting: for every extra hour women slept, they were 14% more likely to have sex with a partner the next day. Researchers think sleep could prevent hormone disruptions that occur when you go all night owl. Consistent, restful sleep could give your sex life a boost. So much easier than buying new lingerie!
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In the study, 171 women tracked the amount and quality of their sleep for a period of two weeks. Every day, they also completed questionnaires on their sexual desire, arousal, ability to orgasm and sexual activity in the past 24 hours.
While the study didn’t delve into why a woman would get more aroused with more sleep, it could be that blood flow to the vagina increases during deep REM sleep. If you don’t snooze long enough to for this process to take place, you could compromise your body’s ability to respond to arousal the next day, the study authors write.
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The science behind these theories needs more research but it’s pretty clear that sleep deprivation can deflate sexual desire and put a damper on your sex life. Which can only mean one thing: nap time.
This article was originally published on Cosmopolitan.com
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