So how will you be spending the rest of your Friday? A spot of gift-wrapping and a chaste early night? Or are you determined to prove the data experts wrong with a night of passion?
It seems extraordinary, but Friday Dec 15 has been dubbed the most “sexless day” of the year. A media-savvy young doctor, Dr Babak Ashrafi, worked out that it’s the date we have the least sex in the UK, based on his analysis of demand for sexual health services, like emergency contraception, the next day.
So why is Dec 15 such a turn-off? Blame freezing temperatures and festive stress, says sex and relationship expert Tracey Cox. “Most people wait for ‘perfect’ conditions for sex before they’ll make the effort. We’re cutting back on heating and who wants to get naked if it’s cold? We eat more during winter, so are carrying extra pounds, giving us even less incentive to expose our bodies. Plus we’re mostly in track-pants and fleeces: not the most flattering gear. Sure, it’s cosy to snuggle when it’s cold but it’s more a ‘comfy’ snuggle than one orchestrated to lead to sex.”
Guilty as charged. With my growing collection of shrugs and nighties, I may think I’m channelling my inner Claudia Cardinale (how else is a 50+ woman to have sex in a newish relationship?) but my partner would happily torch the lot.
But that’s not all. How many of us are aware of a little-known but compelling condition termed “winter vagina”, when the dry, cold air causes the genitals to enter “drought mode”?
‘Lack of moisture in the air’
According to Dr Ashrafi, who works as a doctor for Superdrug Online: “A drop in temperature can make skin and hair become dry and dehydrated, but not many people know that temperature change can also have an effect on your vagina.” A lack of moisture in the air is partly to blame, as well as heating being used more often indoors.
So what can we do to avoid this sex drought in winter? Personally, I recommend everyone invests in a cost-of-living-friendly, heated underblanket (“Dreamland’s Hunker Down Scandi Sherpa Underblanket is the best £100 I’ve ever spent,” a friend boasts) or a Game of Thrones-style Alaskan Husky heated throw.
It sounds a bit like cosplay, but experts advise that feeling pleasantly warm can mean a greater focus on outercourse – i.e. sex without penetration – rather than solely on the wham-bam-thank-you-maam moments. Always better for women.
Sarah Carter is a health and wellness expert residing in the UK. With a background in healthcare, she offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, promoting healthier living for readers.
