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Medical Video: Why Men Lose Interest After Sex | How To Avoid Being Used For Sex
Ladies, have you ever noticed that after a hot lovemaking session, your partner actually falls asleep right next to you without many people? Indeed, sex is touted as an activity that can make you sleep better because of the release of a number of hormones that make you feel more relaxed and sleepy so that you are easier to sleep. But why is the phenomenon of sleeping after sex more common in men - while you are left asleep, dumbfounded lamenting the sky? Apparently there is a biological explanation behind this.
Why do men sleep faster after sex than women?
1. Primitive human instincts
Evolutionarily, a man's main purpose on this earth is to produce as many offspring as possible, and technically sleep will hinder his search. But sleep can be dealt with as a way to rest and recharge before restarting the next round.
2. Sex is more tiring for men than women
Simply put, sexual activity often occurs at night and in bed, two things that are closely related to sleep or rest. Nighttime is the only time where you and your partner can have sex more freely and comfortably without having to bother thinking about other daily routines or the possibility of being caught by a child.
And after all, sexual activity itself tends to be physically tiring, especially for men rather than women. Mark Leyner and Billy Goldberg, M.D., the authors of the book Why Do Men Fall Asleep After Sex ?, explained further that the exertion of energy during sex and after climax depletes the energy-producing glycogen in the muscle. And because men have more muscle mass than women, men become more tired after sex. So when sex is over, it's natural for a man to feel sleepy.
3. Men have faster (and easier) orgasms than women
Research using positron emission tomography (PET) scans shows that in order for you to reach orgasm, the main requirement is to release "all fears and anxieties." Doing so, besides spending mental energy, also tends to relax feelings that might explain a person's tendency to fast asleep after sex.
Then, there are some nerves that play an important role during orgasm. One of them is the nucleus accumbens, a region of the brain that is associated with pleasure and appreciation through the release of a transmitter, called dopamine. Apart from sex, dopamine can also be released by stimulating drugs, such as amphetamines and cocaine, caffeine, nicotine, and chocolate.
This might be one of the factors why orgasm can feel tiring. When all brain nerves are stimulated together, this can blur the difference between each nerve function. At the climax, the area of the orbitofrontal cortex lateral brain located behind the eye is deactivated. This area is responsible for behavioral control and reasons. This is probably why you can't focus on other things around (including couples who want to spend time making out), and just want to go to sleep.
4. The effect after orgasm on men is different from what women experience
An important part of orgasm is a kind of tunnel vision - and this not only dampens outside interference, such as knocking on the door of the house and outside construction noise. In women in particular, the effects of post-orgasm make them very focused. The reason is that orgasms are really built with a full focus on achieving satisfaction, making us blind to other stimulants, both physically and mentally.
A study in 2005 from the Netherlands showed that the part of a woman's brain that regulates feelings, the amygdala and hippocampus, is actually turned off as soon as she builds an orgasm. We become very focused on sensations and pleasure, rather than thinking about love, worries, or other things. Part of the behavior of regulating the brain also dies, so we also don't control ourselves for fear of being judged. Once we descend from the climax, we return to our bodies, our consciousness is rearranged, and our emotional intelligence returns to normal.
Meanwhile, after men experience orgasm they usually experience a recovery period (refractory), which makes them unable to return to being aroused quickly. This is coupled with a factor of fatigue, making men generally tend to "give up" and want to go straight to sleep. Conversely, women cannot always reach orgasm after sex (which prevents them from producing sleepy trigger hormones), but also does not have a glorification period like men.
Therefore, they tend to be more alert and refreshed after sex because they don't go through the same orgasm period, and want the next round to reach the anticipated orgasm when their partner just wants to rest.
5. Women have a greater urge to make love after sex (afterplay)
After orgasm, both men and women release the chemicals oxytocin, prolactin, gamma amino butyric acid (GABA), and endorphins. Each contributes to feeling relaxed and sleepy after sex. The hormone oxytocin is known to have several effects, including the formation of behavior snacking, stimulation of uterine smooth muscle contractions during labor and stimulation of breast milk letdown in women.
This is also referred to as "hugging hormones" because it tends to give rise to the need to strengthen inner bonds with partners. But in one study, oxytocin proved to be able to blunt male intimate behavior because it triggered the release of melatonin, a sleepy trigger hormone.
Prolactin is another factor that is the reason why men sleep faster after sex. This hormone is produced in the pituitary gland, and its most famous function is stimulation of milk production. Prolactin is believed to relieve sexual arousal after orgasm and release the mind from sex. Prolactin levels rise during sleep, and experimental animals that are injected with this hormone can get tired and sleepy right afterwards. So prolactin seems to be the culprit.
What's more, a man's body naturally produces more than fourfold prolactin after orgasm from intercourse rather than after masturbation for unknown reasons, according to a recent study.
