Sleep. Want to know why?
Because experts say it affects sexual drive.
The 2005 Sleep in America poll -- a study conducted annually by the National Sleep Foundation -- recently gathered data that indicates adults who suffer from sleep disorders are more likely to encounter problems in their intimate relationships.
Additionally, 25 percent of survey respondents with partners said that their interest in sex has declined due to sleep deprivation.
Such effects are present in college students as well, said Dave Jackson, coordinator of Awake in Philly -- the Philadelphia branch of the national sleep organization Awake in America.
Lack of sleep "can lead to sexual dysfunction," Jackson said. "Including impotence."
Jackson attributes these symptoms to the body's inability to function properly without sleep.
"Your body is struggling to focus on the key things that it needs to work on," he said. "And sexual functions is not what your body needs to work on."
He added that a decrease in libido may occur as well.
So with finals and Spring Fling approaching, students may be forced to sacrifice their sex lives for their academic and social ones.
"There are a lot of college students that are sleep-deprived as a result of studying and their social lives and finishing papers," Jackson said.
Jackson said sleep researchers recommend from seven and a half to eight and a half hours of sleep each night.
Penn Office of Health Education Director Susan Villari said that though the office has not directly addressed sleep in regards to sex drive, office studies show that many students are sleep deprived.
A focus group of freshmen and sophomores last year found that a number of these students receive less than three to five hours of sleep several nights per week.
However, the effects of sleep deprivation may not be obvious immediately, Jackson said.
"I've never seen a study that says that two weeks of sleep deprivation will lead to this, this and this," Jackson said. "But in the short term, you will notice moodiness, maybe a lack of interest in sex, lack of concentration and lack of attention.
He added that the symptoms are not more likely to occur for males or females but noted that women are less likely to admit that their sexual drive is deteriorating or lacking.
"They come in and say, 'My husband complains about it and I don't see it happening,'" Jackson said.
"The men come in and say, 'This has never happened before.' They have different approaches to it, but it is pretty even across the board."
Some students agree that they notice a decline in their sex drives when they sleep less.
"I don't even want to move a muscle" when tired, said a College freshman who declined to be named.
The freshman said that he usually sleeps about seven hours each night but suffers from symptoms of sleep deprivation when he gets less than that amount.
"If I don't get enough sleep, I would have to rest during the day if I want to go out later on," he said.
He added that sleep deprivation also has adverse effects on his academics.
