Relationships4 min(s) read
Published 12:29 08 May 2026 GMT
A health and sleep expert has revealed the best time of day to have sex with your partner, and according to him, most couples are getting it completely wrong.
Dr Michael Breus, a clinical psychologist and sleep specialist, shared his thoughts during an appearance on Steven Bartlett’s Diary Of A CEO podcast in February.
According to Dr Breus, the key to better sex comes down to understanding your "chronotype," which is your body’s natural preference for when it wants to sleep, wake up, and be active.
During the discussion, Bartlett pointed out that things could get complicated "if the time you want to have sex and the time your partner wants to have sex are off".
But Dr Breus explained there may actually be an ideal time that works best.
"Number one is you want to have a time. So first of all, most people are intimate between 10:30 and 11:30 at night. That’s just a survey that we did. So it makes kind of a lot of sense," he said.
"But here’s what’s interesting, is your hormone profile doesn’t look too good at 11:30 at night for having sex. In order to have successful sex, you want to have estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, adrenaline, and cortisol, all to be high, and melatonin to be low," he added.
While many couples naturally end up getting intimate at night, Dr Breus explained that our bodies are actually preparing for sleep at that point.
Melatonin levels rise in the evening, making us tired and potentially affecting performance.
The sleep expert then pointed to one major clue from biology itself. "If you happen to be having sex with somebody who was born biologically male, what do most men wake up with in the morning, an erection?" he said.
"If that’s not mother nature telling you when to use that thing, I don’t know what is," he added.
According to the expert, morning sex came out on top when researchers looked into the connection and performance levels.
"So when you start to look at it, and we actually did the surveys, we discovered that people actually have greater connection and greater performance in their sex when they have sex in the morning time," he explained.
"Now, do you have to brush your teeth and throw in a little mouthwash first? Yes, of course you do. Like, let’s be fair to your partner here, but you end up learning quite a bit. Again, your body is telling you this is actually the perfect time to do something like this," he concluded.
Unsurprisingly, the expert's advice quickly sparked strong reactions online.
One person agreed with Dr Breus, writing: "I always have sex with my lovers in the morning. I mean, you are already in bed and naked - like 80% of the work is done!" Another simply added: “Morning is best.”
Not everyone was convinced, though. "Nah - afternoon or evening sex mitigates bad breath and needing to use the bathroom right in the middle of it all, and is more sexy time," one person argued.
Another questioned how practical morning sex really is for working adults, writing: "Who the hell is still in bed at 7am and can afford an hour to have sex and shower afterwards before work?"
A different commenter added: "Just let people have sex when they want. Dont need to optimize everything lol”
Despite the expert’s advice, studies suggest most people still choose to have sex much later in the day.
Per The Mirror, a 2005 study involving university students found that most sexual activity happened between 11PM and 1AM.
Researchers said factors including work schedules, family life, and "partner availability" all played a role in when couples got intimate.
Some participants also admitted they simply "feel more sexual” at night, while around 16 percent said they had sex because "they were in bed anyway".
The study concluded: "Although human adults seem to find opportunities for sex at practically any time of the day, most sexual encounters occur around bedtime (11PM to 1AM). A smaller peak in sexual activity occurs around wake time."
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