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https:\/\/www.realbritishsex.com<\/a><\/p>\n Our interest in sex doesn\u2019t stay the same throughout the year\u2014it changes with the seasons. And right now, we\u2019re at peak sex.<\/p>\n Numerous scientific studies have found that there\u2019s a reliable increase in sexual interest and activity during the early summer months (a second peak occurs in December, but that\u2019s a story for another, colder day). Let\u2019s take a look at the evidence.<\/p>\n Our browser histories tell a big part of the story. An analysis of Google search trends published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior<\/em> revealed that searches related to pornography (think search terms like boobs, sex<\/em> and MILF<\/em>), prostitution (escort, massage parlor,<\/em> and brothel<\/em>) and online dating (britishmaturesex.com)\u00a0are all consistently higher in the summer compared to the spring and fall. This isn\u2019t simply because people do more googling in the summer\u2014searches for pets, car parts and popular websites including Facebook don\u2019t follow a reliable cycle throughout the year. Instead, this seasonal search trend is therefore specific to sex.<\/p>\n Increase in sexual interest isn\u2019t just playing out on our computers and smartphones. We can see it in our actual sexual behaviors, too. For example, studies have found that, in the summer, people report having more sex, condom sales go through the roof and teenagers are more likely to report losing their virginity. Not only that, but STD clinics\u00a0find that patients who visit in the summer report having the highest number of recent sex partners. Perhaps not surprisingly, these clinics diagnose more STDs in the summer, too.<\/p>\n The logical question you\u2019re probably asking yourself right now is why<\/em>? What\u2019s behind this peak in summer sex? What we\u2019re seeing here is a biopsychosocial phenomenon, meaning there are biological, psychological and social\/environmental factors that are conspiring to change our sexual behavior pattern.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s start with biology. In the summer, the days are longer and we\u2019re exposed to more sunlight, which increases the body\u2019s production of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Serotonin is a brain chemical that makes us feel good\u2014and that\u2019s why the most popular anti-depressant drugs are designed to boost it.<\/p>\n Research has found that serotonin levels are generally higher in the summer than they are in the winter, which helps to explain why we see corresponding mood changes throughout the year, including higher levels of depression in the winter. So what does this mean for our sex lives? Well, if people are happier in the summer due to changes in brain chemistry, they\u2019ll probably be more inclined to engage in activities that have the potential to lead to sex, like going out to bars and clubs or going on dates. By contrast, if you have the winter blues, you\u2019re probably less likely to venture out of the house and socialize, thereby creating fewer opportunities for sex. Also, if you\u2019re already in a positive mood state, it\u2019s just easier to feel other positive moods, like the one we experience when we\u2019re sexually aroused.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a lot more to this story than serotonin, though\u2014and this is where psychology comes into play. In the summer months, we tend to do more exciting and novel things. For example, you might go on vacation, visit a theme park like Universal Studios or Six Flags or join a recreational sports league. All of this excitement has the effect of amping up our physiological arousal, which, it turns out, often gets transformed into sexual arousal.<\/p>\n This is something psychologists call excitation transfer theory<\/em>, and it basically means that excitement from one stimulus has the potential to intensify our excitement to another. For example, in a 2003 study, researchers approached people at an amusement park who had either just gotten off of a roller coaster or who were waiting in line to ride one. Participants were then asked to rate the attractiveness and desirability of a photo of someone of the opposite sex. The researchers reported that single people who had just exited the ride rated the target as more attractive than people who were waiting in line.<\/p>\n What this tells us is that part of the increase we\u2019re seeing in summer sex might just be that we\u2019re subconsciously transferring the excitement of our outdoor activities to our bedrooms.<\/p>\n On top of this, several social and environmental factors play a role, too. One is that summer offers a more sexualized environment than other seasons. As psychologist Dr. Nicole Prause described in an email, \u201cIt\u2019s hard to find sexual cues when everyone is bundled head to toe, then hard to stop seeing them with whatever is happening with shorts these days.\u201d So, it\u2019s no wonder we have sex on the brain in the summer\u2014we\u2019re just bombarded with cues and reminders of sex everywhere we go.<\/p>\n And then there\u2019s the fact that many of us have more free time in the summer. Teens are on summer break, and all of that time off coupled with less adult supervision helps to explain the aforementioned spike in summer virginity loss. As for adults, summer vacations offer relief from stress. Stress can put a big damper on sexual desire, so any opportunity to get away from it\u2014even if it\u2019s temporary\u2014is going to make it easier to get in the mood for sex.<\/p>\n So, if you\u2019ve found that you\u2019re hornier than usual lately, you\u2019re not alone. In the summer, our bodies, activities and environments change in dramatic ways that set the stage for feeling sexually liberated. To which we say, let freedom ring.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.realbritishsex.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" https:\/\/www.realbritishsex.com Our interest in sex doesn\u2019t stay the same throughout the year\u2014it changes with the seasons. And right now, we\u2019re at peak sex. Numerous scientific […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[166,15,167],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realbritishsex.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1117"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realbritishsex.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realbritishsex.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realbritishsex.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realbritishsex.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1117"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.realbritishsex.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1119,"href":"https:\/\/www.realbritishsex.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1117\/revisions\/1119"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realbritishsex.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realbritishsex.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realbritishsex.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realbritishsex.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n<\/h1>\n
In the summer, we subconsciously transfer the excitement of our outdoor activities to our bedrooms.<\/h1>\n
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