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Researchers from the University of Chicago found only a week of sleep deprivation can lead to a 15% drop in testosterone production.) (It doesn’t take long for poor sleep to impact testosterone levels, either. This directly impacts the sex drive of both men and women decreased testosterone also contributes to erectile dysfunction for men. Poor sleep interrupts the body’s natural hormone production cycle and can lead to diminished testosterone levels. The primary issue is that sleep apnea leads to insufficient sleep marked by frequent nighttime arousals. The median age for the men in the study was about 43-years-old, and research found odds of low libido increased with age and depressive symptoms.

At the time, about 18% of all men experienced ED, indicating sleep apnea can drastically worsen the problem.Īnother recent study from 2018 found men with untreated sleep apnea have 23% greater odds of reporting low libido than men who do not have untreated sleep apnea. In 2009, researchers found nearly 70% of men with untreated sleep apnea also had erectile dysfunction. There’s even more research highlighting how damaging sleep apnea is to the sex lives of men. Those women, on top of their sleep apnea, suffered from Female Sexual Dysfunction, a wide-ranging problem that includes consistent issues with sexual desire, lubrication, response, pain and ability to achieve orgasm. The study found the women with untreated sleep apnea had “significantly more sexual distress” than those without it. Women between the ages of 28-64 answered questionnaires on their sex lives. Sleep apnea doesn’t just affect men in the bedroom, it can also dampen the sex drive and performance of women as well.įor women, one study looked at 80 females suffering from sleep apnea and compared them to a few hundred women without the disorder. Sleep Apnea Decreased Men and Women’s Libido

Let’s take a quick look at how sleep apnea derails your libido, as well as the research showing CPAP treatment can help improve performance and rekindle romance. Research indicated it both promotes better blood flow, and helps stimulate your sex drive. Multiple studies, coupled with first-hand testimony, indicate CPAP therapy can have a remarkable effect on your sex life. This where CPAP, the most common treatment of OSA, comes into play. One reason treating sleep apnea is so effective is that it treats many of the underlying conditions linked to diminished sex drive and erectile dysfunction (ED). It also contributes to diminished blood flow and vascular issues that lead to erectile dysfunction in men. That alone can ultimately impact intimacy, desire, and male performance in the bedroom.īeyond insufficient sleep, a sleep disorder such as obstructive sleep apnea when left untreated, hampers your libido and diminishes sex drive. To begin, your body doesn’t operate as well as it should when it’s getting insufficient sleep.

Snoring can certainly get in the way of an intimate night with your significant other, but there are also biological factors at play. Whether it’s increasing your odds of type 2 diabetes, heart failure or stroke, sleep apnea is a disorder that should be dealt with sooner rather than later.īeyond the more obvious disruption in the bedroom from loud snoring, there’s an even more troublesome reason sleep apnea disrupts your love life. In one study, for example, men who were newly diagnosed with ED showed significant improvement in erectile function scores after participating in an 8‐week stress management program.Untreated sleep apnea can negatively impact your health in a number of ways. Stress management techniques, such as breathing exercises, meditation, and talking to a therapist, may help. Relationship problems, divorce, facing the death of a loved one, financial worries, a new baby, or a busy work environment are just some of the life events that can greatly affect the desire for sex. One study published in Scientific Research and Essays supported the notion that stress has a direct effect on sexual problems in both men and women.Īnother study of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) found that the stress disorder increased their risk of sexual dysfunction more than threefold. This narrowing restricts blood flow and potentially causes ED. Your arteries can narrow in times of stress. This is because stress can disrupt your hormone levels. If you’re distracted by situations or periods of high pressure, sexual desire may decrease.
