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Have More Sex, Sleep Expert Advises
You should definitely give this sleep aid a try, scientists say
Cognitive neuroscientist Sara Mednick, PhD, argues that we should all have more sex in order to rev up every cell in the body and brain and release feel-good hormones that set us up for a good night’s sleep.
“To all you insomniacs out there, to the anxiety-prone people who spend hours ruminating, to anyone who feels exhausted all the time, whether or not they get good sleep: sex is the answer,” Mednick, a sleep researcher at the University of California, Irvine, writes in her new book, The Power of the Downstate. “I know that shaking the sheets can sometimes be the furthest thinking from your mind after a busy day that has sucked up your very last ounce of energy. But think about it as medicinal sex, like taking your vitamins, and have fun!”
Though “medicinal sex” might not be the first item I’d put on a list of fun activities, it’s hard to argue with Mednick’s advice: have more sex and sleep better.
However, there’s not a lot of hard data on the relationship between these two enjoyable activities. For one thing, sleep scientists and sex researchers haven’t hooked up a lot for serious study. And the obvious observational challenges, the intense monitoring needed for good research, don’t make studying…
