women also require testosterone for good sex and sexual desire

At Ukmedix News we have written a fair bit about a number of different research projects which show that men who get poor sleep or who suffer from sleep apnea are more likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction. New research however shows that it is not just men who will experience poorer quality sex lives but also women! For example a recent study published by The Journal of Sexual Medicine saw that women between the ages of 28 and 64 who had sleep apnea were much more likely to also experience a loss of sexual desire and sexual dysfunction.

One of the theories as to why sleep deprivation causes sexual problems in both men and women is to do with the fact that the body is programmed to produce higher levels of the all important sexual hormone testosterone during the night and if you don't get good sleep this process will be interrupted. Testosterone is well known to be a male sex hormone but not that many people know that women also require testosterone for good sex and sexual desire.

In a sense it is a vicious circle because if you don't get good sleep you will find it hard to relax during the day and therefore you may suffer from stress and anxiety which in turn will make it more difficult for you to sleep the next day. This also means that you might find it difficult to relax for sex which will lead to poor sexual experiences and more stress, anxiety and lack of sleep.

If you are not getting good sleep you need to make a proactive effort to change that. For example, speak to a doctor about sleeping pills, get exercise to tire yourself out or just learn to switch off from your problems at night.

Poor sleep also leads to higher levels of obesity and lower levels of productivity at work. don't underestimate the importance of a good night's sleep!