# orgasms and sleepiness **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 18, 2001, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasms-and-sleepiness/94032 "2001-11-18T04:05:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kevin\_Partida](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Kevin\_Partida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevin_Partida)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasms-and-sleepiness/94032/1 "2001-11-18T04:05:36Z")
Why does it make me sleepy after I have sex with my g/f ? Even if we don’t get very frisky… so it’s not just generally tiredness I suppose… ---
**Author:** ![Eosine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/67e7ee/32.png) [@Eosine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eosine)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasms-and-sleepiness/94032/2 "2001-11-18T04:09:52Z")
Hey, I’m a female, and I find all the work that goes into getting to the orgasm makes me tired too.😛 ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasms-and-sleepiness/94032/3 "2001-11-18T04:15:48Z")
There is reportedly a bodily chemical released that makes the male sleepy. The female, though, gets a muscle-relaxing chemical that staves off menstrual cramps. Isn’t that a nice reason to get an orgasm during menstruation? ---
**Author:** ![Grok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/96bed5/32.png) [@Grok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grok)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasms-and-sleepiness/94032/4 "2001-11-18T04:25:32Z")
An old girlfriend of mine claimed there is an evolutionary basis to sleepiness after orgasm. She said the male’s tendency to fall asleep gave the female a chance to “escape”. I suppose this COULD be plausible. This would leave the female to care for her expected young, and leave the male free to go impregnate more females, thereby spreading around his genetic makeup. Both creature’s evolutionary imperative would thereby be fulfilled. I don’t necessarily support this hypothesis, I’m just reporting it and speculating. She was a bit of an odd one, that girl. And come to think of it, she was often gone when I woke up… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![lenin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3bc359/32.png) [@lenin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lenin)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasms-and-sleepiness/94032/5 "2001-11-18T04:28:13Z")
Sigh… The master already was asked this. [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5\_183.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_183.html) ---
**Author:** ![Kevin\_Partida](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Kevin\_Partida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevin_Partida)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasms-and-sleepiness/94032/6 "2001-11-18T05:46:51Z")
That is true, but he never actually said why it happens, he just ventured off into explaining a study that shows that it does make men and women sleepy… ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasms-and-sleepiness/94032/7 "2001-11-18T14:59:52Z")
**Kevin** you just got over a respiratory infection! You should take it easy and get lots of rest! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasms-and-sleepiness/94032/8 "2001-11-18T15:00:37Z")
Grok-If a man has forced a woman to have sex, going to sleep is a very bad survival mechanism. The woman may now kill him in his sleep. He has thus managed to mate once, giving bad odds that his genes will be passed on to any offspring. Further, in mammals the female generally does not want to seperate from the male. He protects her during pregnancy. This is not out of altruism or fatherly pride. His genes have programmed him to protect the incubator. I always assumed that humans became sleepy after sex for the same reason we became sleepy after eating. That it’s a kind of ‘the important stuff is done. We’re safe now. Let’s get some sleep while we can’. ``` Hmmm. We know from the Master that researches have investigated the sex lives of of monkeys and apes. Has anyone researched whether the males of those species roll over and go to sleep afterwards? ``` ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasms-and-sleepiness/94032/9 "2001-11-18T17:11:58Z")
Well, my opinion is that orgasm causes the body to make endorphins, endorphins are the ‘opiates’ of the brain, which makes one sleepy. e.g websters: “any of a group of proteins with potent analgesic properties that occur naturally in the brain ? compare ENKEPHALIN” Sorry, I can’t advise you on rest or not Kevin. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasms-and-sleepiness/94032/10 "2001-11-18T18:24:28Z")
Dunno, but I _can_ say that it’s not always the men passing out. Mrs. Tranq will usually curl up, pull my arm over the top of her, and quietly & quickly go to sleep. _Any_ touch other than just holding her at this point will induce a convulsive and dangerous response. No back-rubs, no caresses, just _hold_, on pain of death. I’ve learned to wait until she’s deeply asleep before trying to recover my arm, even if it’s gone completely to sleep. Fortunately, that usually takes all of about 3 minutes. Sometimes I fall asleep, but usually not. I’m quite happy to curl up around her and listen to her breath, though. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasms-and-sleepiness/94032/11 "2001-11-18T22:03:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kevin Partida \* > \*\*That is true, but he never actually said why it happens, he just ventured off into explaining a study that shows that it does make men and women sleepy… \*\* Well, after reading the essay, I have to say you’re missing the point. If you want a scientific explanation of the phenomenon, you’re out of luck, because science hasn’t been able to conclusively demonstrate the existence of the phenomenon. If you just want people to make ignorant speculation about possible causes, you’re probably in the right place. Er, or not, I dunno.