Stegehuis, Sem (2024) The Effect of Intimacy on Sleep. Master thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
In the pursuit of enhancing health and well-being through sleep, the current study investigates the extent to which the engagement in intimacy serves as a factor to benefit sleep. The existing literature demonstrates a correlation between sleep quality and sexual activity. While partnered sex with orgasm emerges as a powerful factor influencing sleep outcomes positively, masturbation with orgasm does not produce significant changes in sleep qualities. Henceforth, orgasm alone does not entirely explain the sleep-promoting effects of sexual activity. In the current study, the role of intimacy is explored as a determinant affecting this unexplained phenomenon. It is hypothesized that intimacy decreases sleep latency and increases subjective sleep quality. The current study conducted a cross-sectional study (N = 328) and a longitudinal study of that consisted of 3,569 measurements. The results supported the hypothesis that the engagement in intimacy benefits sleep quality. In addition, intimacy seems to play an inhibiting role to the negative effects on sleep variables due to not experiencing orgasm. Intimacy satisfaction and intimacy duration both were significant factors in the beneficial contribution to the sleep variables. The current study concludes that the unexplained difference between outcomes of partnered sex and masturbation in sleep variables appears to be linked to the presence of intimacy, and should be investigated further. Keywords: intimacy, sexual behavior, sleep, orgasm, subjective sleep quality, subjective sleep latency
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Oesterling, C.F. and Borg, C. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | Clinical Psychology (CP) [Master Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 23 Jan 2025 12:30 |
| Last Modified: | 23 Jan 2025 12:30 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/4523 |
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