There’s a good chance you’ve found yourself falling into a peaceful slumber after an intimate encounter. Or maybe you’ve been frustrated with a partner who has passed out without cuddling. But there are a lot of reasons people fall asleep after sex, and it doesn’t necessarily mean a partner is uninterested.
Next time if your man falls asleep after sex or doesn’t get involved in an afterplay session, don’t feel insulted as there is a scientific reason behind it. There are various reasons for this behaviour and has nothing to do with your relationship with each other, his love for you or his performance in bed.
1. Higher Oxytocin Levels
During sex, the brain produces more oxytocin, which helps relieve stress and tension to facilitate orgasm
So, post-coitus, you feel more relaxed, which, when combined with all the other factors, makes it easy to fall asleep
2. Takeaway
If your partner falls asleep after intimacy don’t take it as an insult.
Their body is producing post-orgasm chemicals that can lead to tiredness and relaxation.
Both oxytocin and prolactin will be released after intimacy, and are the leading factors for the tiredness men experience after sex.
3. Prolactin Discharge
Prolactin is a hormone present in both men and women.
For men, the body produces prolactin immediately following an orgasm
Prolactin’s primary purpose is to create sexual satiety and discourage arousal causing the refractory period.
This hormone is why it can take so long before a guy gets in the mood again (the “refractory period”)
Prolactin also inhibits dopamine, the brain chemical that helps you stay awake. Research indicates that the body produces four times as much prolactin after sex than it does from masturbation, creating more significant side effects (i.e., fatigue)
4. Environmental Factors
Many people have sex at night, in bed, with the lights off.
Unfortunately, those factors also signal the brain that it’s time to go to sleep, so once you’re finished, you’ll be ready to catch some sleep.