【健康】Partnered sexual activity with orgasm improves sleep, study finds

A recent study examined the extent to which sexual activity, including partnered sex and masturbation (with or without orgasm), had an effect on sleep latency and quality. Across a 14-day diary, the researchers found that only partnered sex with orgasm was associated with less time to fall asleep and improved sleep quality. This study was published in the Journal of Sleep Research.

Approximately 30% of the population experiences symptoms of insomnia, while 6% meet the diagnostic criteria. Given poor sleep negatively affects the health and quality of life of a large proportion of the population, researchers are interested in studying what may improve sleep.

In this work, Carlotta Florentine Oesterling and colleagues recruited 256 participants to study the effects of sexual activity on sleep. Participants received a daily email reminder, which also included an individualized survey link for 14 days that they completed upon waking up in the morning.

The cross-sectional study included a questionnaire on demographic characteristics, mental health or sleep disorders, sexual dysfunction, medication, and alcohol or caffeine consumption. Insomnia was assessed using the Insomnia Severity Index, which is a seven item questionnaire. An eight item questionnaire was used to assess how participants retrospectively perceived sexual activity (including intercourse and masturbation both with and without orgasm) impacted their sleep latency and quality.

After the cross-sectional study, participants kept a daily diary for 14 days. This included the Core Consensus Sleep Diary, items measuring alcohol use, menstruation, and unusual events in the past 24 hours that could have influenced sleep. Participants also indicated whether they had engaged in sexual activity, and if so, they responded to a nine item questionnaire for more details.

On the last day, participants also responded to items assessing honesty, social desirability, occurrence of life-altering events, and the perceived influence of participating in this research on their sexual activity and sleep.

The cross-sectional data revealed that partnered sex and masturbation with orgasm were perceived to reduce how long it took to fall asleep, and increased sleep quality in both men and women. Both sexes also reported that partnered sex and masturbation without orgasm increased sleep latency and decreased sleep quality, with a stronger effect among men.

However, the results of the longitudinal study slightly differ. While partnered sex with orgasm reduced sleep latency and improved sleep quality, masturbation with orgasm had no effect on sleep. As well, partnered sex and masturbation without orgasm did not influence sleep in either direction. Further, sex differences emerged in the longitudinal data.

A limitation to this research is that it relied on a student sample from a Dutch University. Given the young population, and that sexuality is understood differently across cultures, future research ought to recruit a more diverse sample.

The study, “The influence of sexual activity on sleep: A diary study”, was authored by Carlotta Florentine Oesterling, Charmaine Borg, Elina Juhola, and Marike Lancel.

机器翻译：

最近的一项研究调查了性活动，包括伴侣性行为和手淫（有或没有性高潮），对睡眠潜伏期和质量的影响程度。在为期14天的日记中，研究人员发现，只有性高潮伴侍的性行为与入睡时间和睡眠质量的改善有关。这项研究发表在《睡眠研究杂志》上。

大约30%的人口出现失眠症状，而6%符合诊断标准。鉴于睡眠不足会对大部分人口的健康和生活质量产生负面影响，研究人员有兴趣研究可能改善睡眠的方法。

在这项工作中，Carlotta Florentine Oesterling及其同事招募了256名参与者来研究性活动对睡眠的影响。参与者每天收到一封电子邮件提醒，其中还包括他们在早上醒来时完成的14天的个性化调查链接。

横断面研究包括一份关于人口统计学特征、心理健康或睡眠障碍、性功能障碍、药物以及酒精或咖啡因消费的问卷。使用失眠严重程度指数评估失眠，这是一个七项问卷。使用八项问卷来评估参与者回顾性感知的性活动（包括有和没有性高潮的和手淫）如何影响他们的睡眠潜伏期和质量。

横断面研究后，参与者每天写日记14天。这包括核心共识睡眠日记，测量酒精使用，月经和过去24小时内可能影响睡眠的异常事件的项目。参与者还表明他们是否从事过性活动，如果有，他们回答了一份九项问卷以获取更多详细信息。

在最后一天，参与者还回答了评估诚实，社会可取性，改变生活的事件的发生以及参与这项研究对他们的性活动和睡眠的影响的项目。

横断面数据显示，伴侣性行为和性高潮手淫被认为可以减少入睡所需的时间，并提高男性和女性的睡眠质量。两性还报告说，没有性高潮的伴侣性行为和手淫会增加睡眠潜伏期并降低睡眠质量，在男性中效果更强。

然而，纵向研究的结果略有不同。虽然性高潮伴舞性行为减少了睡眠潜伏期并改善了睡眠质量，但性高潮手淫对睡眠没有影响。同样，没有性高潮的伴侣性行为和手淫不会影响睡眠。此外，纵向数据中也出现了性别差异。

这项研究的一个局限性在于它依赖于荷兰大学的学生样本。鉴于年轻人口，以及不同文化对性行为的理解不同，未来的研究应该招募更多样化的样本。

这项研究名为“性活动对睡眠的影响：日记研究”，由Carlotta Florentine Oesterling，Charmaine Borg，Elina Juhola和Marike Lancel撰写。