Chronic sleep deprivation is increasingly damaging the male
libido and
triggering erection problems, a sex researcher
has warned at an
international sleep conference.
The Brazilian sexual health specialist, Professor Monica Andersen, says
the increasing pace of the modern world is taking a toll on hours of
sleep and is having a direct knock-on impact on sex. There is an
increasing body of evidence showing those who don''t sleep enough are
suffering lower libidos and, in many cases, are also suffering erectile
dysfunction. And in a very few number of men, this lack of sleep is
triggering a rare and disturbing condition called sleep sex, or
sexsomnia, when their libido is heightened and they initiate sex while
asleep. "Not getting
enough sleep can be very, very damaging on the male sex life but it
seems this hasn''t actually occurred to many
people," said Prof
Andersen, a lecturer at the Federal University of Sao Paulo. Speaking
at worldsleep07 in Cairns, the expert drew the links between sleep and
sex. Studies have
proven that those who are sleep deprived, particularly those with
disrupted body clocks, have a much poorer libido in general.
The same complaints come from men with the night-time breathing
problem, sleep apnoea, who need treatment with continuous positive
airway pressure (CPAP) to help restore their erectile function. "This is a sad product of the busy 24-hour life that we''re living now," Prof Andersen said.
"People''s body clocks are out, they''re not prioritising their sleep and
their sex life is suffering. The problem is that people are very aware
of their sexual life but they don''t seem to be aware of the massive
impact that their sleeping patterns are having on it," she said.
"If they have poor libido or erection problems they blame work, money
problems, children, family or other things going on around them without
even thinking of sleep," she added. She also told the conference that
in rare circumstances a lack of sleep could trigger sexsomnia, an
unusual condition where sufferers, usually men, seek out and have sex
in their sleep. Prof
Andersen, one of the few experts in the area, said there had been
little research linking sleep and sex drive in women, largely due to
the complex behaviour of female sex hormones