Lifestyle: Morning sex may make you more productive – Survey

On your average weekday morning, would you rather: Sleep for an extra half hour, or start your day having sex with your partner?

Personally, I am never keen to stop snoozing, no matter the circumstances, although theoretically sex and snacks would rank among the most compelling reasons to be up early.

And apparently, one of those things can give your workday a lasting boost: According to a survey conducted by mattress review site Mattress Advisor, people may feel more productive throughout the day if they set the tone with morning sex.

Mattress Advisor asked almost 1,000 partnered, cohabitating people about their morning routines: The order of operations they follow on any given day, and how they begin days that end up feeling more productive.

For most people, the average morning unfolded along this schedule (presumably, without every participant checking every box): Use the bathroom, check phone, drink coffee, snooze the alarm for a little more sleep, shower, brush teeth, take care of pets, drink water, exercise, and have sex with partner.

On the especially productive days, however, they did things differently: Use the bathroom, have coffee, shower, sex up partner, check phone, exercise, brush teeth, eat breakfast, take care of pets, and drink water.

However you feel about eating breakfast after you brush your teeth, here’s something you can feel good about: 53 percent of male-identified and 45 percent of female-identified participants said morning sex made them feel more productive.

Meanwhile, 33 percent of men and 43 percent of women reported no change. Seven percent of men and 12 percent of women said morning sex made them less efficient. (Distracted, perhaps?)

Men were more amenable to sacrificing sleep for sex (41.5 minutes versus the 30.7 minutes women were willing to give up), but perhaps there is a middle ground.

Perhaps you can tinker with your morning routine such that you sleep the same amount but also get to have an “intimate morning moment,” to borrow the survey’s phrasing. Among the activities people most commonly chose over morning sex: Brushing teeth (57 percent), sleeping (55 percent), showering (54 percent), and breakfast (51 percent).

All of which seems reasonable — please brush your teeth before heading to work or anywhere else! — but still, it may be worth restacking your priority hierarchy to make room for morning sex.

As Dr. Justin Lehmiller, a Research Fellow at The Kinsey Institute and author of the book Tell Me What You Want, points out, more scientific research than this has clocked a connection between nightime sex and elevated happiness, satisfaction, and engagement in the workplace.

“Based on these findings, it seems reasonable to predict that morning sex would have similar effects,” Lehmiller tells Bustle.

“We would need a scientific study to know for sure, but I don’t see a reason to suspect that the effects of morning sex would be any different than evening sex in terms of how we feel at work.”

Emphasizing that the link between sex and productivity requires more research before we can draw definitive conclusions, Lehmiller suggests two possible explanations for the phenomenon: The effects of sex hormones and neurotransmitters like oxytocin and dopamine stick around even after the act is over, and/or, we’re better equipped to focus at work when we start our days with stress-reducing sex.

So if you would like to harness the power of that lovin’ feeling, consider shuffling around your schedule.

Can you pick out your work clothes the night before, and leave them neatly folded for a quick change in the morning? Can you save your workout for the evening?

Can you give your phone, which probably gets more attention than it deserves already, a break, or get your news from the radio turned on in the background while you shower and brush your teeth?

Can you get to be a little earlier and avoid hitting snooze in the morning (which may only make you more tired anyway)? Sure you can. I believe in you.