10. Kills Your Sex Drive
It stands to reason that when your body is exhausted, you are unlikely to be motivated toward sex. As well as a loss of physical energy, a lack of sleep also increases stress and tension, both of which negatively affect sex drive.
A 2008 poll from the National Sleep Foundation found that 20 percent of respondents have lost interest in sex because they are too tired.
Because sleep deprivation impairs your emotional response, it may also cause you to become irritable easier and therefore affect your relationship, making it less likely that you will want to engage in sexual activity with your partner.
Over time, sleep deprivation is likely to lead to a general loss of interest in sex. Sleep deprivation once again goes hand in hand with mental health issues like depression and anxiety, of which loss of libido is one of the symptoms. These factors affect both men and women equally.
Poor sleep patterns have been found to affect the male production of testosterone, the hormone responsible for sex drive. Scientists from the University of Chicago found men who get less than five hours of sleep a night for a week or longer suffer have far less levels of testosterone than those who get a good night’s rest.
Studies have also shown that men that suffer from sleep apnea, a sleeping disorder which disrupts sleep, also tend to have lower testosterone levels and as a result, often have lower libidos.
Having low levels of testosterone can also lead to other health problems such as an increased risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.