It lacks the build-up and anticipation of date-night sex, but there’s something about the sleepy, uninhibited ease of morning sex that I just can’t get enough of. And I’m not alone. A recent study by Superdrug showed that people’s favourite time to have sex is Sunday morning. It’s no surprise. After all, everyone knows morning sex is better… don’t they? Your head isn’t full of the day’s work, you’re not full of food or foggy with booze. And not forgetting the fact that you’re already in bed!
“Ooh!” exclaims one friend when I tell her I’m writing an ode to morning sex. “I personally much prefer it. I’m usually knackered in the evening as I work fairly nuts hours. And it feels like a nice awakening. My body feels all woozy anyway and it just seems to hit all my senses more.”
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This makes total sense to me. Everything you do in the morning hits your senses that little bit harder; a hot shower, strong coffee, the first flood of daylight as you open the curtains. Morning runners will know well the feeling of that first lungful of fresh air, morning swimmers the first plunge into cool water. For me it’s my partner’s touch against my sleep-warmed skin, the gentle awakening of my body, its nerve-endings newly engaged.
The stresses of the day are not yet upon you and neither are the demands. Don’t get me wrong, I love sex in the evening, too, but like most busy people I occasionally struggle to get in The Zone. Conversations replay themselves, to-dos pop up unbidden, emails clamour for a response. If I told you I composed parts of this very article mid-shag the other night, I would be stretching the truth… but not that far.
Sex when you first wake up, on the other hand, is free from such distractions. Not to mention the lack of physical constraints in the form of a full belly and often, let’s be honest, a skinful of booze.
My husband and I have been known – after a particularly big dinner – to simply look at each other and say “morning sex?” And it’s not unusual after a meal for one of us to set our knife and fork down and announce, with all the romance inherent in a long-term relationship, “I’m going to need at least an hour before we can fuck!”
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Not a morning person? Believe it or not, neither am I. The snooze button on my alarm clock has been hit so many times it actually broke. Little besides the real and irreversible threat of missing a flight or a job interview can stand between me and the lure of just another five minutes. Which is perhaps why my love of morning sex is so strong. Finally, I have found something I like better than sleeping!
Just as exercise in the morning sets you up for the day, so does sex. Its “afterglow” effect was recently linked with improved productivity and job satisfaction. The release of happy hormones oxytocin and dopamine, combined with reduced stress-hormone cortisol, is a kickstart stronger than any coffee but with the mellowest of highs. It not only wakes you up, it calms you down and even kills pain ("better than paracetamol," says one friend) – ideal in the case of a hangover.
On my social media, at least, people are in agreement. "It's great for anxiety," Suzi writes on Facebook. "The endorphins literally get rid of the early morning spike." While on Twitter, Diana describes it as "far more effective than morning yoga."
Do the joys of morning sex know no bounds? Well, admittedly, yes.
“I’m not so into morning sex. I always need a pee,” complains Ben. “I once got told off by an ex for waiting until the exact moment where we were both really turned on and ready for sex and then said ‘Right, I’m off for a pee.’”
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Lucy points out: “I do like the lazy element of morning sex – it just kind of feels effortless in a way that nighttime sex doesn’t. Got to be careful about that morning breath, though!”
For me, these downsides are swiftly and easily remedied by nipping to the bathroom to have a wee and to brush your teeth before jumping back into bed. And while a loo break might on first glance appear to be a passion-killer, I believe it is more than compensated for by the glorious feeling of slipping back under the duvet and knowing you have a few more moments of pleasure before the day begins.
Of course, there are the time constraints.
“I think we both probably prefer morning sex,” says Amy. “But it very rarely happens unless it’s the weekend or we’re on holiday as I always get up for work before my boyfriend. At weekends, though, I agree it’s a great start to the day.”
She makes a fair point and I would be the first to admit I do not start every day with a shag, far from it. Life gets in the way: pets need feeding, breakfast needs eating, some days there just isn’t time for a full sesh. But then again, who said you needed one? The benefits of orgasm are the same, whether delivered by a partner or your own fair hands. And how much easier could it get than a quick fumble under the covers before you’ve even opened your eyes? Heck, you don't even have to brush your teeth.