The Scientific Reason Why You Should Have Sex Before Going to Bed Tonight

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Think about it: How do you and your partner wind down before hitting the hay? Do you read a book? Watch a TV show? Scroll through your phones? Beware—you might not be practicing the best habits for getting a great night’s sleep. Fortunately, new research suggests one (fun!) addition to your bedtime routine: having sex.

In a recent survey of 460 adults between the ages of 18 and 70, around 64 per cent of respondents slept better when they had sex with their partners before falling asleep. But here’s the catch: Your quality of sleep gets a major boost when both parties have an orgasm.

Why does sex lead to a better snooze? “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,” Adelaide sleep researcher Dr. Michele Lastella told Adelaide Now. (Science reveals the reasons you should be having more sex.)

The way sex improves your sleep quality might be gender-specific, too. “For women, estrogen levels increase after sex, which can enhance a woman’s REM cycle for a deeper sleep. In men, the hormone prolactin is secreted after orgasm and has been tied to sleepiness,” licensed psychologist Rachel Needle, co-director of the Modern Sex Therapy Institutes, told CNN.

You’ve never had a better excuse to spice up your sex life—and your bedtime routine.

This is exactly how long women want sex to last.