A new study from Austrian scientists shows: the higher the subjective stress at a particular moment, the lower the sexual desire and arousal. In addition, the researchers found that the return of sexual activity was associated with a decrease in levels of cortisol, the main stress hormone. The work was published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinologywrites Рsypost.org.

Stress and sexuality intersect at the hormonal and psychological levels.Elevated cortisol can disrupt the balance of sex hormones, leading to decreased libido and difficulty getting aroused.At the same time, stress increases internal tension and distracts attention, making maintaining emotional contact difficult. For some people, however, stress can increase sexual motivation as a form of emotional release.

A research team led by Hannah M. Mues from the University of Vienna examined how subjective stress and cortisol levels relate to sexual desire, arousal and sexual behavior. Scientists hypothesized that the stress-reducing effect after sexual activity would be greater in women.

The study recruited 63 healthy heterosexual volunteers from Vienna (32 women and 31 men), aged 19–32 years. For 14 days, participants reported their current levels of stress, sexual arousal and desire through the device up to six times a day, and also provided saliva samples to measure cortisol. After each sexual encounter—within 15 minutes—they filled out a separate report.

Stress and desire

The analysis showed that during moments of increased stress, participants experienced a decrease in sexual desire and arousal. This association was true for both sexes, but the reverse effect—where greater arousal was accompanied by lower levels of stress—was statistically significant only for women.

Additionally, in women, high cortisol was associated with decreased sexual desire, while in men there was no such association. However, neither stress nor cortisol predicted changes in sexual motivation several hours later. However, sexual activity had measurable physiological effects:Participants’ cortisol levels decreased regardless of gender.

“Our data confirms that stress suppresses sexual desire and arousal. From the point of view of the dual control model, stress may act as a factor inhibiting sexual responses,” the study authors noted.