For women, each additional hour of sleep increases the likelihood of sex by 14%. This is according to a new study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.

Share on Pinterest “Sleep disturbance may contribute to sexual complaints and reduced sexual activity,” the study concludes.

Although previous studies have looked closely at medical illness, psychological disorders and relationship dissatisfaction as factors that can lead to sex problems for women – such as a lack of sexual fantasies or diminished arousal – sleep problems have been largely overlooked as risk factors for sexual dysfunction.

“As a step toward addressing this gap, we examined the influence of nightly sleep on sexual response and activity in young women,” write the authors of the new study.

The researchers say they were interested in exploring the hypothesis that poor sleep duration and quality lead to increased difficulties with sexual function, as no previous studies have explored this. Some studies have found a link between sexual response and untreated sleep-related breathing disorders, but were unable to determine if the poorer sexual response was directly caused by the sleep problems.

For the new study, the researchers recruited 171 healthy women. More than half of the sample reported having at least one sexual partner at the start of the study.

To avoid confounding the results, the study did not include any participants that had recently used antidepressants, which are known to reduce sexual response.