Chronotype, gender, and time for sex

Abstract

The study aimed at testing chronotype and gender differences in the time of day when humans feel the greatest need for sex and the time of day they actually undertake sexual activity. A Polish sample of 565 participants aged between 18 and 57 was tested. In females, regardless of chronotype, the greatest need for sex occurred between 18:00 and 24:00, but a secondary peak appeared in morning types at 6:00-9:00. In males, the greatest need for sex occurred either in the morning or evening: in evening types at 9:00-12:00 and 18:00-3:00; in neither types at 6:00-9:00 and 18:00-24:00; in morning types at 6:00-12:00 and 18:00-24:00. Considering time of day when subjects were undertaking sexual activity most frequently, this appeared between 18:00-24:00 for all the participants, and prolonged until 3:00 at night in evening type males. Morningness preference was more strongly related to the timing of need for sex than to the timing of actual sexual activity (r = -.275 vs. r = -.174), while the timing of desire and the timing of sexual activity were positively, but moderately related (r = .320).