Research: Why women prefer making love before sleep, while men like it first thing in the morning

Women most desire sex just before they go to sleep - at 11.21pm in the evening, according to a survey.

But sex o’clock for men is more than 15 hours earlier just after they wake up - at 7.54am.

The staggering difference in the sexes’ optimum moment for passion is revealed in a new survey of 2,300 people by sex toy brand Lovehoney which looked at couples’ mismatched sex drives.

It found that 78 per cent of men and 69 per cent of women desire sex most at different times of the day.

Men feel at their friskiest first thing in the morning.

More than a quarter (28 per cent) most desire sex between 6am and 9am - with the most popular time at 7.54am.

But just 11 per cent of women feel most passionate at this time.

Desire levels for women rise throughout the day and reach their peak between 11pm and 2am.

A quarter (25 per cent) chose this three-hour window as the best time for sex, with 11.21pm the most popular moment.

Far fewer men (16 per cent) want to make love just before they go to sleep.

Online erotic brand Lovehoney found that people tend to settle down with partners who have similar sex drives to their own.

Almost two-thirds of women (63 per cent) and 54 per cent of men said they wanted sex as much as their current partner.

There were big differences in how couples’ sex drives vary during the week.

Just over half of men (51 per cent) said their sex drive was pretty constant, compared to just 36 per cent of women.

Almost half of women (47 per cent) said their sex drive was driven by their moods but this applied to just 34 per cent of men.

More than two-thirds of women (68 per cent) and 63 per cent of men had dated someone whose sex drive was different from their own.

This caused issues for 44 per cent of women but just a third (33 per cent) of men.

Lovehoney co-owner Richard Longhurst said: “This shows that there are big differences in sex o’clock between the sexes..

“Men are ready for sex just before breakfast whereas women most want passion last thing at night.