M.I.N.G. Nation! Sex! Now that I have your attention, let’s talk about your body. You should know about your body, what it does, and why. There shouldn’t be any surprises when it comes to you. We all hear about how weird women’s bodies are and all the fun things they have to deal with, but men also have our own quirks that don’t get a lot of attention. To start things off in the series of “Our Weird Bodies”, we will discuss something that you are probably familiar with but have no idea on why it happens.
Sex and Why You Fall Asleep Afterwards
For most men, myself included, after we have sex we suddenly feel very tired and can even immediately fall asleep. But why is that? We have more stamina than that, we can go to the gym and workout for an hour or two at a time. And unless you are a marathon runner in bed we all honestly didn’t spend THAT much time in the act. So what is the explanation for your slumber?
The answer lies in your hormones, and specifically in one called Prolactin. After we orgasm, a whole flood of chemicals is released into our bodies. Prolactin is one of them, and it serves as the “off” switch for your testosterone-fueled sex drive. So one minute you are full of energy and the next minute you have none at all. I like to think of this as the bodies way of saying “Hey! This person just let you have an orgasm, let’s stick around and see how this plays out.”
Interestingly, Prolactin is also the hormone that dictates how long it will be until you can perform again. High Prolactin and you’ll be waiting a while, while low Prolactin means you’ll be ready to go in no time. And no, women don’t have their own equivalent of the “off switch” which is why your partner can get up and go on about her day as if nothing happened [insert joke about not fulfilling your partner here].
So the next time you have sex and need a few minutes to relax and rest up afterward, just know that it’s something that is dictated by your body that is out of your control.
Until next time stay manly and be sure to check out some of the other great articles on M.I.N.G.!
