sweetest things on earth, and even if it is stressful
and requires a lot of strength to do, especially for
men, it is a rigorous exercise many people would
gladly undertake over and over again.
Though, it is no secret that many men nod off
straight after sex, some women also sometimes feel
sleepy after sex but the phenomenon seems more
pronounced in men. To women, the obvious sign of
complete 'shutdown' by men moments after a
passionate encounter is practically frustrating, and
could be accompanied with a loud buzz of snoring.
Scientists have given men the perfect excuse for
feeling sleepy after sex: 'they just cannot help
themselves, and not that they are just selfish.'
It is easy to think that men sleep off after sex because
they are tired, but findings have shown that it goes
beyond that. Scientists have said that men really do
need to sleep after sex when they climax because
their brains become flooded with sleep-inducing
chemicals such as oxytocin, serotonin and prolactin.
Also, the blood rush after the climax depletes the
muscles of energy-producing glycogen and because
men typically have higher muscle density than
women, they become more tired after sex.
In other words, the answer to the question, 'why do
men fall asleep after sex' may be as simple as saying
that they have very little control over their bodies at
that point; hence, it literally shuts down.
When a group of scientists led by a French
Neuroscientist, Serge Stoleru, in a study scanned
some men's brains before and during orgasm, they
found that the cerebral cortex, which is the 'thinking'
area, shuts down almost immediately after orgasm.
After this, two other areas, the cingulate cortex and
amygdala direct the rest of the brain to deactivate
from sexual desire.
Stoleru, whose research was published in the
Journal Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews,
said the human brain is involved in all the successive
steps of sexual behaviour.
Also, neuroimaging scans show that, after orgasm,
men tend to experience decreased activity in the
prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain associated
with consciousness, information processing, mental
activity and responding appropriately. This,
according to scientists, helps to explain why men feel
sleepy after sex.
As this happens, a surge of chemicals such as
oxytocin and serotonin flood the brain creating a
powerful sleep-inducing effect while reducing stress
levels, boosting relaxation and sleepiness.
To take it further, when prolactin chemical
associated with feeling satisfied is released into a
man's system during orgasm; it is likely that it causes
the man to feel sleepy, which further explains why
men feel sleepier after intercourse than after
masturbation. However, previous research showed
that men who have lower prolactin are less tired and
tend to feel less sleepy after sex.
Stoleru added, "After men have an orgasm they
usually experience a refractory period when they
cannot be aroused, while women don't seem to have
such a strong refractory period and may be asking for
more or some intimate attention when their partners
just want a rest.
A businesswoman, Mrs. Oni Juliet, said she had
been wondering why her husband slept after sex
adding that she expected more from him, being a
young man.
She said, "Most of the time, he sleeps off shortly, or
even almost immediately after he reaches orgasm,
while I would be left hanging, longing for him to
hold or kiss me. But he would just be beside me, like
someone who has shut down completely. It could be
frustrating, you know.
"Really, I expect more from him because we are still
both very young. He deflowered me on our wedding
night, I have not had any experience before now, but
I find it very disturbing. Once he goes for first round,
he knocks out, and the next thing is to start snoring."
A Director of Sleep at the University of Surrey, United
Kingdom, Dr Neil Stanley, said as frustrating as it is
for most women that their male partners just roll
over and fall asleep after sex, men are not completely
at fault and are not entirely to blame. "Humans are
the only animals in which sleep and sex are linked
and while often seen as just a poor excuse, there are
scientific reasons why men feel tired after sex," she
said.
More reasons it could be wrong timing to hope to
have a conversation with your man after sex, because
you may as well be talking to yourself.
Some reviewers of the study said a constructive way
to tackle the problem could be for wives to express
their distress to their husbands and ask if they could
try to dedicate few minutes after making love to them.
Another could be to have sex outside the bedroom,
possibly earlier in the day, maybe in the bathroom,
having glasses of their favourite drink by the tub to
make the experience more sensual.
However, one thing is for females to get used to it,
because it is not likely to change anytime soon. In
fact, it could be worse in some cases because a recent
survey of 10,000 English men revealed that 48 per
cent actually fall asleep during sex, so, be grateful if
he falls asleep after, and not during sex.
A Consultant Psychologist, Prof. Toba Elegbeleye,
said sex takes a lot of energy to complete and that
there is tendency for the brain and the entire system
to want to rest when such intense energy is
exhibited. He cautioned that where the sexual
activity took place also determined if the sleep would
be possible or not.
He said, "When you indulge in sex, which usually
takes place at night when people sleep naturally, it
comes with a level of intensity that involves all your
energy and whatever you can muster to make it have
a shaking effect, after which the multi-nerve ends are
relaxed. This makes people sleep easily.
"It also depends on where you do it. Usually, if it is a
legal encounter, which takes place in your own
bedroom where you are comfortable, you might sleep,
which is different from when you do it in your car or
somewhere else under duress, that is not so
comfortable.
"Another factor that could aid sleeping well after sex
is eating good food prior to the act because you may
not be able to do it well if you are hungry and the
body entertains only one urge at a time and hunger is
as strong an urge and a drive as sex is. Other factors
could be to have a pleasant room atmosphere with a
good bed and if there is no thought of threatening
financial burden or security issues in mind."
A Clinical Psychologist, Mr. Femi Agberotimi, said
there are certain physiological reactions during and
after sex that occur in both genders that have been
identified to induce/enhance sleep.
"The neurotransmitter dopamine, released during
orgasm triggers a stress-reducing, sleep-inducing
response that may last up to two hours. Hormones
such as Oxytocin and Prolactin which are released in
a much quantity during sex than in the usual state
have also been identified to enhance sleep because of
the good feelings they produce.
"Other physiological changes that occur during sex
which could translate to getting tired and falling into
sleep include the increase in heart rate, respiration
and blood pressure as well as changes in the muscle
tone which could put the body in the same state with
someone who ran 100meter race," he added.
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