You may think spending hours on end in the office will lead to a big payoff. Who needs sleep when you’re making all that dough, right? Wrong. Your body needs sleep for damn near everything. Which is why the American Sleep Foundation recommends that adults get between seven to nine hours of it nightly. This is nonnegotiable. And you can’t just sleep three hours one night and 10 the next, either. You need consistency so you don’t ruin your game.
You may think that’s just a pipe dream, but skipping out on sleep is messing with more than just your performance in the board room and the weight room. It may be the main culprit for your drop in sexual desire. Here’s how.
Sleep Boosts Your Testosterone
Testosterone is your body’s natural mojo. It’s what gives you that needed boost of energy and keeps you vitalized and horny. How much you sleep directly impacts your T levels. So you’re not just cranky when you don’t sleep — you’re trashing your manly energy.
A study from the University of Chicago measured men’s sleep time and quality through high-tech wristbands. Testosterone was measured right when the subjects awoke in the morning. Men who slept four hours showed significantly lower T levels than those who had slept eight hours.
In other words, all of those long nights and early mornings can’t possibly be worth getting less action. You should be doing all things with your T levels in mind. It’s what makes you tick.
Less Sleep Means Less Focus
When we sleep, our bodies get much-needed time to recover. It's how we reset and restore ourselves. With less sleep, your body’s forced to make do with less repair time.
“You’re more likely to make mistakes at work, for example, but less likely to realize it and correct them," says Shalini Paruthi, M.D., a sleep specialist and spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. When you don’t sleep, you get sloppy. You’ll find yourself correcting errors you’ve made, leaving less time to focus on your love life. Lack of sleep has even been shown to make your dumber (not sexy).
When you’re tired, you’re not going to be on your A game. And what’s worse, it’ll hamper your chances of finding a lady-friend or giving your best performance in bed.
The More You Sleep, the Sexier You Feel
Is there anything more wonderful than waking up after a marvelous, rejuvenating night's sleep? (No, in case you weren't sure.)
When you get enough sleep, it affects your skin, waistline, and energy levels. All of these factors contribute to how sexy you feel. So when you don’t sleep, you don’t feel your best, and you can bet that this'll lower your desire for sex. Onestudy from the University Chicago showed that lack of sleep completely wipes out sex drive in men.
It’s not just you. Your partner feels the effects, too. A study from the Journal of Sexual Medicine found that sleep-deprived women were 14 percent less likely to have sex than those who had gotten proper sleep. You better download the sleep cycle app ASAP.
Getting Less Sleep Lowers Your Sperm Count
Sleep not only impacts your desire for sex, but also affects your fertility. According to a Danish study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, sleep deprivation lowers sperm count in men. Researchers found that, of the study's 953 subjects, those who were sleep deprived had lower-quality semen than whose who were not.
This occurs because most hormone secretion is dictated by the circadian clock, your body’s natural cycle. If your sleep cycle is interrupted, your body won’t release as many reproductive hormones, which affects overall fertility.
Sleep also impacts overall immunity and health, both of which contribute to strong fertility in both men and women.
Losing Sleep Boosts Your Stress Levels
When you lack sleep, your body is on constant high alert. A 1997 study from the University of Chicago found subjects who slept fewer hours in a night experienced raised cortisol levels, the body’s stress hormone. In a 2010 study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, researchers found that a rise in cortisol negatively impacted sex drive in subjects.
Ironically, cortisol is naturally decreased during sexual arousal and orgasm, so this is actually the saddest vicious cycle ever.
Sleepless Nights Can Cause Erectile Dysfunction
As if you weren’t already convinced that sleep is critical to bettering your sex life, sleep deprivation can also cause erectile dysfunction. Several studies have shown that a lack of sleep is directly linked to ED.
A 2009 study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine took a look at 401 male subjects with sleep apnea. Of those observed, 70 percent also had erectile dysfunction. Yes, that means poor sleep could actually make it hard to get hard. So get some shut-eye. All those appointments and your “to-do” list can wait. It is just not worth it to skip the Zs.
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