How can lack of sleep affect my sex life?

Lack of sleep can take a toll on your sex life:

• Sleep disorders and chronic sleep loss put a serious ding into a sex life. No surprise there. When some partners resort to separate bedrooms due to snoring, sleep apnea, or restless sleep, that pretty much rules out any opportunity for spontaneous action.

• The effects of sleep deprivation--low energy, fatigue, and sleepiness--won’t inspire sex. No surprise there either.

• Men with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), an inability to breathe properly during sleep, commonly report low libidos and sexual activity.

• OSA may be associated with lower testosterone levels. A 2002 study of men at the Technion Sleep Laboratory in Israel found that nearly half of those who suffered from severe sleep apnea also secreted abnormally low levels of testosterone during the night.

• Sleep loss can make you quarrelsome: you’ll be “feisty” in an irritable kind of way--not a sexy kind of way.

• Sleep loss makes you less able to cope with life’s ups and downs. Sex can be a great stress reducer, but if you don’t have energy for it, then that reduces your opportunities to unwind.

• People with insomnia are also less likely to engage in social activities. This doesn’t bode well for the single person looking to make an intimate connection.

Poor sleep can lead to inflammation that threatens your arteries, hampering blood flow to all parts of your body, including critical sexual zones.

Don't skimp on time in the sack. So you can sleep, of course! How can desire stand a chance if you're so tired that even a little extra sleep sounds more enticing than sex? Go easy on the alcohol, too. It can disrupt sleep patterns big-time and impede both sexual arousal and performance. And pull the plug on all your tech toys an hour before bedtime -- yes, that means no texting, surfing, gaming, or watching TV -- so you can wind down and snooze. There's something in those flickering electronic lights that wakes up your brain.

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