Why is it that a man feels at his sexiest when he wakes up in the morning but a woman wants to go back to sleep?<\/p>\n
And why, late at night, when a woman is in the mood for love, is her man just lying there, snoring? It all comes down to hormones. Here\u2019s why our sex clocks don\u2019t always tick in time.<\/p>\n
5am<\/strong><\/p>\n Even before a man has opened his eyes in the morning, his level of testosterone is at its peak \u2013 between 25% to 50% more than at any other time of the day.<\/p>\n That\u2019s because the pituitary gland in his brain \u2013 which governs the production of the male sex hormone \u2013 has been switched on in the night and levels have been steadily rising until dawn.<\/p>\n Women also make \u00adtestosterone \u2013 the main sex drive hormone \u2013 but produce a fraction of the amount and it rises by only a tiny bit overnight. It is also kept in balance by oestrogen and progesterone.<\/p>\n \u201cMen need only a normal amount of testosterone to feel like sex,\u201d says Ashley Grossman, neuroendocrinology professor at St Bartholomew\u2019s Hospital, London. \u201cThe raised levels in the morning means most men will wake up two to three times a week with erections.\u201d<\/p>\n 6am<\/strong><\/p>\n Slept well? A good kip is another reason a man may feel even more amorous in the morning. Studies found the longer and deeper a man has slept, the higher his testosterone levels. Research in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows getting more than five hours\u2019 sleep can raise male levels by an extra 15%.<\/p>\n 7am<\/strong><\/p>\n While a man\u2019s levels of sex hormones are at their highest when he wakes up, a woman\u2019s are at their lowest. \u201cMale and female testosterone levels are at their highest at opposite ends of the day, so they are out of synch,\u201d says consultant gynaecologist Gabrielle Downey, of the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust.<\/p>\n \u201cIt takes more than hormones to get a woman in the mood, so men need to make an active effort.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead, women\u2019s hormones rise and fall more over their monthly cycle than through the course of a day.<\/p>\n At their height \u2013 midway through her cycle \u2013 a woman\u2019s levels of testosterone will be 30 times higher than at the start.<\/p>\n 8am<\/strong><\/p>\n Preparing for another busy day at work?<\/p>\n As both sexes get ready for the day, levels of the stress hormone cortisol rise to help them wake up \u2013 and help dampen the effect of sex hormones.<\/p>\n After this initial surge, if the body keeps producing too much in response to stressful events over the day, studies have found it lowers the sex drive of both men and women.<\/p>\n 9am<\/strong><\/p>\n As the day goes on, men will keep steadily making testosterone in their testes. The hormone is also needed to trigger muscle growth and sperm production. Although men are mostly unaware of it, levels will fall and rise in a wave naturally every 90 minutes throughout the day as part of the body\u2019s in-built body clock.<\/p>\n 12 noon<\/strong><\/p>\n An attractive colleague wanders into the workplace. But it won\u2019t be a man\u2019s hormones that react first. If a man feels highly attracted by someone, it\u2019s his nervous system that kicks into action.<\/p>\n The sight of someone \u00adattractive immediately releases feel-good brain neurotransmitters called endorphins \u2013 and triggers blood flow to a man\u2019s genitals. Sex hormones take longer to increase. However, when confronted with a sexy person, a man who naturally already has higher testosterone levels is likely to be more flirtatious with them.<\/p>\n Men with more testosterone are also more likely to be found attractive by women, according to researchers at Wayne State University in Michigan, US.<\/p>\n According to assistant professor of psychology Richard Slatcher \u2013 who has studied the link between testosterone and attractiveness in men \u2013 the more \u00adtestosterone a man has, the more women are likely to say they click with them.<\/p>\n 1pm<\/strong><\/p>\n If women are lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the Diet Coke hunk at \u00adlunchtime, they are less likely to be aroused than if a male colleague sees someone he fancies. Instead, studies have found that a woman\u2019s testosterone levels are more likely to be boosted by the anticipation of sex with her own partner.<\/p>\n In one study by the University of Texas, women in long-distance \u00adrelationships gave five saliva samples. The tests were given two weeks before they saw their partners, the day before, before sex, the day after sex and three days after the pair were separated. The women\u2019s testosterone levels hit their peak the day before they were due to see their partners again.<\/p>\n 6pm<\/strong><\/p>\n As evening approaches, men\u2019s levels of testosterone are starting to fall while women\u2019s sex hormones are gradually rising, albeit much more slowly.<\/p>\n However, an after-work gym session can boost the libido of both genders. Studies have shown that testosterone levels in men are significantly higher after 30 to 40 minutes of intense \u00adresistance or endurance exercise.<\/p>\n Research by scientists at the University of California, San Diego, found men who exercised had a boosted libido.<\/p>\n They also reported having 30% more sex and 26% more orgasms.<\/p>\n Levels of sex hormones also spike in women after exercise. According to a study by the University of Texas, women who had 20 minutes of cardio exercise were more aroused by seeing an erotic film than women who had not exercised.<\/p>\n 7pm<\/strong><\/p>\n When it\u2019s time to unwind after a stressful day, even putting on a CD to relax can affect sex hormone levels.<\/p>\n A Japanese study by Nara University found that music \u2013 including pop music, jazz or just a compilation of favourite songs \u2013 boosted testosterone levels \u201csignificantly\u201d in women but had exactly the opposite effect in men.<\/p>\n Researchers believe the reason is that music may make women feel more relaxed, bonded and in turn more sexual, while in men it calms their aggression and in turn reduces their levels of testosterone.<\/p>\n 8pm<\/strong><\/p>\n If an important match is on TV, the results can also affect a man\u2019s testosterone \u2013 depending on the result.<\/p>\n According to a study of saliva tests by the University of Utah, sports fans watching a World Cup game boosted hormone levels by about 20% if their team won.<\/p>\n After a loss in a big game, there was a 20% drop in levels. Not good news for England fans, then!<\/p>\n By contrast, women are more likely to be affected by actually playing sport rather than watching it.<\/p>\n In one study of women athletes, their testosterone levels significantly increased after long runs.<\/p>\n 9pm<\/strong><\/p>\n By now, a man\u2019s \u00adtestosterone level is dropping to the lowest level of the day, while a woman\u2019s is heading towards its highest point.<\/p>\n But the more attractive a woman feels, the more likely it is that she will want to jump into bed with him.<\/p>\n \u201cSexual desire in women is not a simple story,\u201d explains Gabrielle Downey.<\/p>\n \u201cFor men, it\u2019s more down to testosterone. For women, the single greatest factor i\u00adnfluencing a woman\u2019s sex drive is body image and how attractive she perceives herself to be.<\/p>\n \u201cIt means that if a woman sees herself as unattractive, she is much less likely to want to have sex.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why women with polycystic ovaries, who have increased levels of \u00adtestosterone, don\u2019t have increased libido.<\/p>\n \u201cThey often see themselves as overweight and not attractive \u2013 and that feeling \u00adoverrides their heightened sex hormones.\u201d<\/p>\n 10pm<\/strong><\/p>\n Even though men\u2019s testosterone levels are now at their lowest, they are still more likely to have sex in the evening.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been said that women need a reason and men just need a place \u2013 and I think that\u2019s true,\u201d says Gabrielle.<\/p>\n \u201cEven though male testosterone may have dipped, their levels are still running higher than a woman\u2019s so they are still responsive \u2013 even though the man\u2019s levels were higher when they first woke up that morning.\u201d Once they are making love, if a woman\u2019s testosterone levels are peaking because of where she is during her cycle \u2013 around the 13th day \u2013 her orgasms are more intense and they will be felt all over the body.<\/p>\n When the levels are lower, her climaxes are less intense and centred mainly around the sexual organs.<\/p>\n 11pm<\/strong><\/p>\n During orgasm, the bonding hormone oxytocin is released \u2013 which helps to bring couples closer.<\/p>\n In males, the bonding hormone helps make the prostate and seminal glands to contract.<\/p>\n In women, it helps to spark uterine contractions that move the sperm towards the ovaries.<\/p>\n The release of oxytocin after sex also explains why men are notorious for falling asleep after making love.<\/p>\n \u201cIn women, oxytocin is known as the hormone of breast-feeding and muscle contractions,\u201d says Gabrielle.<\/p>\n \u201cBut in men the extra boost of oxytocin has also been found to work as \u00ada neurotransmitter in the brain and may also promote sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n Oxytocin\u2019s bonding effects will last after sex, too.<\/p>\n In one study, Swiss researchers gave 47 couples a nasal spray containing either oxytocin or a placebo.<\/p>\n The pairs were then videotaped, discussing subjects that they usually rowed about.<\/p>\n The partners who were given oxytocin were more reasonable and less aggressive with each other.<\/p>\n Oxytocin was also found to have an \u201camnesiac\u201d effect \u2013 which may also have allowed them to forgive each other more easily after rows!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Source: Mirror UK<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Why is it that a man feels at his sexiest when he wakes up in the morning but a woman wants to go back to sleep? And why, late at night, when a woman is in the mood for love, is her man just lying there, snoring? It all comes down to hormones. Here\u2019s why […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[36],"class_list":["post-83114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-corruption"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=83114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83114\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=83114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=83114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=83114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}