Science Says People Are The Most Sexually Active During This Season
One very good thing about the sex life of humans is we don't have a "mating season." We can get it on at any time of year, as well as conceive babies at any time of year. This is quite unlike most of the rest of the mammals in the animal kingdom. Small animals, which have short gestational times, mate in the spring and summer. On the other hand, large animals, like deer, mate in the fall, have pregnancies about six months long, and give birth in the spring (per Frontiers in Endocrinology). People, for the most part, don't pay too much attention to the calendar when they want to have sex — if they're not trying to conceive.
However, science has found there are certain times during the year when humans indulge in sexy time most often. While we may plan on having a romantic interlude on a meaningful wedding anniversary or to get intimate on the next date, there are periods when the most sex spontaneously happens among humans. Let's see what research has to say about the link between sex and the seasons.
Summer is steamy in more ways than one
Sure, there's the heat in the environment during summer, but then there's HEAT: the fire between two people. Statistics show that the three months of summer — June, July, and August — are the most sex-intense of the year.
Two reports out of the UK came to that same conclusion. A survey, by sex toy retailer Lovehoney, asked more than 2000 people about their sex lives. A quarter of them noted July as their most prolific month for between-the-sheets action (via The Sun). Following closely were August and June, with 22% and 18% respectively. Not to be accused of generalities, Lovehoney went so far as to nail down the exact day during the year that the greatest number of couples fulfill their lust: the first Saturday in July.
The second report, based on data analyzed from 1.27 million women who use the Eve app (for sexual health and period tracking), found that there was a 12% increase in sex during the summer months (per Glow, the creator of Eve). What's more, the analysis uncovered that not only was sex increasing in quantity, it was rising in quality as well. Eve users noted they were more likely to have a "mind-blowing" orgasm during the summer.
Why summer brings the heat
There are a couple of reasons why sex is more frequent in the summer. As the website Glowing reports, women using the Eve app say they desire sex more in the hot weather months because of how the summer makes them feel. For instance, 29% report that feeling "tan and fabulous" leads to their higher sex drive, while 28.6% say being minimally dressed makes them more desirous.
Then there's the fact that the sun is out up to 15 hours a day. "Exposure to sunlight triggers the body to produce mood-boosting dopamine and serotonin, plus a hormone called MSH — all of which spur your libido," Michael F. Holick, Ph.D., M.D., author of The Vitamin D Solution, tells Women's Health. Meanwhile, the sun represses the secretion of melatonin, which tends to promote drowsiness. When melatonin levels are lower, you're more likely to feel alert and you become more open to new experiences, explains Dr. Holick, including sexual ones.
But it also gets pretty hot in winter
Summer may be famous for its heat, but winter is hot as well — there's action going on in the colder months too. After all, the most common U.S. birthday is September 16th (via Business Insider). If you count back nine months from that date, you arrive right around the winter holidays.
Kindara, an app that tracks a woman's fertility, provided over 1.5 million bits of data about the sexual activity of its users. The analyzed data showed that the weeks around the winter holidays were the most popular time of year for sex.
Research published in Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine in the U.K. concurs. While there's a peak of sexual activity in the summer, the researchers found a more pronounced spike occurs during the holiday period. This is based on several measurements, one of which is condom sales. Researchers believe the sharp increase in condom sales in the week before Christmas indicates more sexual activity in that period.
Lots of us may get randy in the summer heat or winter chill, but other research shows autumn to be prime time for sex, especially with the goal of conceiving. Both men and women have higher testosterone levels in the fall, and this hormone is associated with a higher sex drive (via Psychology Today). What's more, day and night are equal in length, and temperatures linger between 50 and 70 degrees. According to research in the journal Human Reproduction, both factors are optimal conditions for conception to occur. P.S. Be careful.