How night of passion makes you more productive at work – even if you lose hour’s sleep!
IT may not appear in the management books, but to be at your best at work you should have sex the night before.
A study found that a night of passion can boost someone’s performance at the office by making their mood 5 per cent better the following day – even if they have had to sacrifice sleep to do it.
The effect, which appeared to linger for at least 24 hours, was equally strong for both men and women.
Sex releases the chemical dopamine, which activates the reward centres in the brain. Researchers believe these positive emotions make us better motivated and more able to cope with stress.
And they suggested that because the ‘ hug hormone’ oxytocin – which is released during sex to help people feel closer to their partners – lasts well into the morning, workers will try harder out of concern for their colleagues and customers.
The study of 159 married employees appears to contradict advice for footballers to avoid their wives the night before an important match.
It found that the benefits of sex held true even if workers had lost quality sleep, had a stressful commute or walked to the office in the rain.
Lead author Professor Keith Leavitt, of Oregon State University in the US, said: ‘We make jokes about people having a “spring in their step”, but it turns out this is actually a real thing ... Maintaining a healthy relationship that includes a healthy sex life will help employees stay happy and engaged in their work, which benefits the employees and the organisations they work for.’
The researchers found that every sexual encounter improved an employee’s mood by an added 5 per cent the next day. This ‘afterglow’ creates ‘positive motivation’ to do better, with sex also able to help someone recover from the stress of the previous day at work.
Researchers asked participants, who had an average age of 35, to keep a diary of how many times they had sex between getting home from work and the next morning.
They then had to fill out questionnaires each morning, afternoon and night for two weeks in which they rated their emotions using words such as ‘inspired’, ‘alert’, ‘enthusiastic’ and ‘determined’.
Those who had sex with their spouse had a better day at work on average, and were more likely to agree with sentences like ‘Today I found real enjoyment in my work.’ They were also more engaged in their work.
The findings, published in the Journal of Management, showed that sex made people happier at work even when researchers took into account marital satisfaction and sleep quality.