What Your 'Sleep Animal' Says About Your Sex Life

Not everyone sleeps the same. Michael J. Breus, Ph.D., a board-certified sleep specialist, created four categories of sleepers to show when we are most awake and when we need our sleep: dolphin, lion, bear and wolf. Sleep patterns can often influence our sex life, determining whether we prefer morning sex, late-night sex or afternoon sex.

Understanding which sleep animal you identify with can help you optimize your sexy time and get the sleep you need to function at your best.

Sex & sleep

First of all, it's essential to address the connection between sex and sleep. Orgasms release oxytocin and prolactin, and they inhibit cortisol. The proper combination of these hormones reduces stress, increases happiness and helps a person feel more at ease. Studies suggest that having an orgasm—as the result of sex with a partner or self-stimulation—before bed improves sleep quality.

Sex before bed may help you sleep better, but it's not always the best time to have exciting, stimulating sex. Depending on your sleep type, your best sex could be early in the morning. Read on to find out which sleep animal best describes you.

Dolphin

An actual dolphin sleeps with half its mind awake, watching for predators. The human equivalent to the dolphin is a light sleeper, prone to insomnia. Human dolphins constantly think and have trouble turning off their thoughts. They may stay up late worrying about the past, present and future.

Dolphins wake up early and go to bed around 11:30 p.m., and they have their best sex around 9 p.m. or later. Additionally, having sex before bed for a dolphin could help ease their mind and make sleep easier.

Lion

In nature, lions wake up before the sun rises and feel sleepy in the early evening. Humans classified as lion sleepers wake up around 5:30 a.m. without an alarm and are incredibly productive before noon. After noon, their productivity wanes until they feel sleepy around 8 p.m.

A lion's best time for sex is early in the morning. If you're a lion sleeper and want to have exciting, passionate sex, meet your partner between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. Early-morning sex for a lion will set a stress-free tone for the rest of the day.

Bear

For a bear in nature, sleep is crucial. They're active during the day and sleep heavily at night. Few things are capable of getting in the way of a bear's sleep schedule. Humans categorized as bears need a full eight hours of sleep. Without eight hours, they wake up with heavy eyelids and a dull headache. After eight hours of sleep, bears are productive early in the morning and throughout the day.

Bears have great sex both early in the morning and in the evening (if they had a full night of sleep the night before). For a bear, exciting sex can happen from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Wolf

In the wild, a wolf lives at night. As a person, they follow the same pattern and aren't morning people in the slightest. They set multiple alarms and sleep through several of them before finally rolling out of bed. They're not productive in the morning and drink several cups of coffee before feeling awake around noon. A wolf is most productive in the afternoon and into the evening.

A human wolf can have exciting sex late into the night. Past 10:30 p.m., a wolf will be energetic and passionate, often moving from a fantastic orgasm directly into satisfying sleep.

Your sleep animal can overlap

Of course, there's no wrong time to have sex. A wolf can still have exciting morning sex, and a lion can stay up late and have great evening sex. Each person is unique, often overlapping two sleep categories.

Knowing your sleep animal helps you determine when your body is most active and can maximize your orgasm, whether you have a partner or not.