Sleep on it: A pilot study exploring the impact of sexual activity on sleep outcomes in cohabiting couples
Engaging in sexual activity, whether solo masturbation or partnered, significantly enhanced objective sleep quality by reducing wakefulness after sleep onset and improving sleep efficiency. Objective wake up time, sleep duration, sleep latency and subjective sleep measures showed no differences postsexual activity, potentially attributable to the small sample size and the inclusion of only healthy sleepers. Future research should focus on expanding the sample size and incorporating participants with sleep disorders to thoroughly investigate if sexual activity before bedtime can improve sleep.
Authors
- Madeline Sprajcer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4966-871X)
- Dean J. Miller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3869-4346)
- Michele Lastella (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1793-3811)
- Ashley Montero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3764-0127)
- Sally A. Ferguson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9682-7971)
- Matthew Browne (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2668-6229)
- Grace E. Vincent (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7036-7823)
Institutions
- University of South Australia (AU)
- Central Queensland University (AU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Sleep Health
- Published
- 2025-02-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2024.11.004
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Sleep and related disorders
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 8.47
Funders
- Central Queensland University