Insomnia is killing your sex life, researchers warn — but here’s how to get better sleep
Let me sleep before we go go.
Insomnia in women has been linked to lack of sexual satisfaction, according to new research.
The study, published in Elevier’s Journal of Psychosomatic Research last month, found that more than half of women battling insomnia had trouble reaching orgasm and experienced lower sexual satisfaction overall, compared to less than a third of unsatisfied women who didn’t suffer from poor sleep.
Men with insomnia reported sexual problems as well, but not as many issues as the women faced. Sleep deprived males accounted for 23 percent of people reporting issues with climaxing and overall dissatisfaction, while only 12.5 percent of men with those issues weren’t reporting as insomniacs.
“Women had approximately twice the rate of both sexual dysfunction and insomnia as that experienced by men,” Dr Wilfred Pigeon from the University of Rochester, New York told The Sun of the study findings.
However, “the presence of clinical insomnia was strongly associated with poorer sexual function in both men and women,” he explained.
Researchers in the United States and Canada worked with 1,266 adults with an average age of 45 to conduct the study.
Insomnia is defined as a sleep disorder characterized by having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, and getting quality sleep, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
An estimated 50 to 70 million people in the US have ongoing sleep disorders.
Experts say you should aim for six to eight hours of quality rest a night, but that’s often easier said than done.
Luckily, experts recently shared solutions to four common sleep problems: trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, feeling tired with adequate sleep and jet lag.
Those who have trouble falling asleep initially may want to create a wind-down routine that includes dimming the lights, putting away smartphones, and turning off, say, “Eyes Wide Shut” on the TV to get some actual shuteye.
The issue also may be getting to bed too early, which can cause anxiety and stress.
“The best habit is really going to bed when you feel sleepy,” Emmanuel During, an associate professor of neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai told The Post.
Things like therapy to reduce anxious thoughts and an over-the-counter sleep aid like melatonin could also be potentially helpful, though supplements and meds should be taken with caution.
Those who find themselves waking up in the middle of the night or too early might actually be depressed and could get some help from therapy.
Or, a spicy meal before bed could be to blame.
“If you’re awake for longer than 20 minutes, you want to leave the bedroom, go out and maybe do something kind of calming like a crossword puzzle or read a book that’s maybe not super exciting,” said Thea Gallagher, a clinical assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at NYU Langone Health.
She added that the healthiest habit is to only use one’s bedroom for sleep.
Then there are those people who report being tired after getting more than eight hours of sleep. The culprit might be sleep apnea, a disorder that causes people to stop breathing as they sleep.
The condition is easily treatable, with sufferers using a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine, though the device can be cumbersome — and can take some getting used to.
Other treatment options include specialized mouthguards or surgery.
People who travel often might have sleep disturbances due to jet lag. Staying up to acclimate to local time is your best bet, according to an expert.
“As long as it’s has not been a long time [say 24 hours] since you last slept, it’s reasonable to push through,” Shah said, noting that coffee and keeping busy can help.
She advises against using sleep aides like melatonin if you haven’t before.
“If you’ve never taken a medicine, you almost never want to take a medicine for the first time [traveling].”
