Want a better night's sleep? Sex before bed may be the answer

December 10, 2017 1:24 PM

Here's why new research suggests you get it on before you hit the sack.

Want to stop tossing and turning in your sleep? Having sex before you hit the sack may be the fix, according to new research.

After surveying 460 people between 18 and 70 years old. Michele Lastella, Ph.D., a sleep researcher at Central Queensland University's Appleton Institute for Behavioral Science in Adelaide, Australia, recently found that two thirds of people slept better after getting it on. The catch? This works best if both people achieved orgasms, The Advertiser reports.

"The project is based on some preliminary research evidence that, after humans have sex and achieve orgasm, we have a massive release of a hormone called oxytocin,” Lastella said in a statement. “This hormone among many other feel-good hormones has been said to act as a sedative to reduce the time it takes to fall asleep.”

Furthermore, Lastella recommends replacing the time you spend scrolling on your phone before you go to sleep with a few minutes of quality intimacy.

“There’s strong evidence to suggest substituting screen time for play time,” he told The Advertiser. “When you’re engaging in sex, you’re not thinking about what to do the next day, you’re not going through your phones. It distracts you.”

He's not the first person to suggest that your phone is ruining your sex life. A 2016 study published in the journal Psychology of Popular Media Culture found that people who thought their partners were too attached to their phones reported being less satisfied in their relationships. And in 2014, Men's Health reported that 62 percent of British women have checked their phones during sex, which can't be good for the experience.

Plus, there's evidence that the blue light emitted from electronics messes with your sleep, too. So when it's time to wind down for the night, your work emails, Twitter feed, and Facebook notifications can definitely wait. Make your partner a priority instead.