A Scoping Review on the Relationship Between Chronotype and Dimensions of Sexual Health and Behavior

Introduction Preferences to perform—or even succeed—all sorts of activities (e.g., social, intellectual) may partially depend on people’s chronotype; individuals may prefer to engage in such activities in the morning (M-types), in the evening (E-types), or may not present a clear inclination (N-type; neither). Though the role of chronotype has been addressed in many health dimensions, sexual health has been overlooked in such a conceptual field.Objective The current work aimed to map literature on the hypothetical relationship between chronotype and dimensions of sexual health and behavior. Furthermore, we aimed to propose new trajectories for studying sexual response by bridging the two fields of research. Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) was implemented. The search conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and EBSCO yielded 1,796 articles; 26 studies were selected after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Findings were organized according to the following themes: (1) chronotype, mating behavior, and sexual attitudes (n = 16); (2) chronotype and dyadic adjustment (n = 8); (3) chronotype and sexual dysfunction (n = 2).Results Despite field limitations and poor investment in the chronotype/sexual health field of research, findings support, among others, a relationship between higher tendency for eveningness and increased sociosexuality, a positive role of matching chronotypes between partners or couples, particularly in the context of sexual or relationship satisfaction, or an eventual link between chronotype, mating strategies and how sexual desire and intercourse vary during the course of the day.Conclusions The lack of investment in the chronotype/sexual health research seems evident; yet, current findings point to some areas (e.g., models of sexual response, delivery of sex therapy) that are worth future exploration.