Not getting enough sleep could be decimating your sex life – with women suffering twice as much as men
MISSING out on sleep could lead to other problems in the bedroom — particularly for women, a study suggests.
More than half of women with insomnia suffered sex issues like low satisfaction and struggling to orgasm, compared to less than a third who didn’t have the condition.
Around 23 per cent of men that have difficulties getting to sleep had the same problems, compared to 12.5 per cent who were not insomniacs.
Dr Wilfred Pigeon, of the University of Rochester, said the study showed “a relationship of insomnia to sexual function and satisfaction with some gender differences”.
He said: “Women had approximately twice the rate of both sexual dysfunction and insomnia as that experienced by men.”
Around one in three Brits suffer with insomnia — a condition that causes difficulties with falling and staying asleep.
Symptoms include lying awake at night, waking up several times through the night and waking up early but being unable to get back to sleep.
The NHS recommends adults get between seven to nine hours of sleep a night, while children need longer.
Insomnia can be caused by a variety of things, including stress, anxiety, noise, uncomfortable beds, too much alcohol and caffeine or shift work.
Previous research has suggested sleep problems are significantly linked to people’s levels of sexual desire, arousal and satisfaction, as well as their ability to orgasm.
The latest study, published in Elevier’s Journal of Psychosomatic Research, looked at insomnia more specifically to see how the condition affects people’s sex lives.
Researchers surveyed 1,266 adults with an average age of 45, asking them questions about sexual desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction and pain.
They were also asked about how they sleep, including the extent to which poor sleep affected their mood, energy and relationships.
Dr Pigeon said: “The presence of clinical insomnia was strongly associated with poorer sexual function in both men and women.”