If the last thing you touch at night is your phone rather than your partner, you’re not alone. More than half of us check texts in the bedroom, says one recent survey, giving more attention to the device by our bed than the person in it. Sadly, smartphones aren’t the only intrusion in our sex lives – most of us carry a headful of distractions that affect our ability to turn off, not to mention our ability to get turned on.
The brain is the most powerful sexual organ of all. It responds to erotic cues by releasing surges of hormones that divert blood to the genitals and cause the swelling, tingling and wetness that puts us in the mood for sex. But the thing is, our minds aren’t actually that great at multitasking – so if you’re mulling over your tax return as your partner sidles up to you in bed, you’re unlikely to feel any great desire for sex. Mental distractions can also dampen the body’s ability to respond to sex. One study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, for example, found that women who reported the highest levels of distraction displayed the lowest levels of genital arousal when watching an erotic movie. Which figures – if your mind is elsewhere, your sexual organs simply don’t get the memo that passion could be on the cards.