Having sex at least three times a week, with a focus on the morning, can ‘reduce stress’ and improve your health, according to a clinical psychotherapist.

Sexual intercourse can increase the production of chemicals and neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin, which can drastically affect mood.

‘As a result, sex can help people feel less stressed, closer, more relaxed and sleepier.

Speaking to The Pat Kenny Show, clinical psychotherapist and author Stephanie Regan said there was a “definite lowering of libido” during the pandemic.

“The simple physiological impact of having regular sex is that it is good for wellbeing, it's good for our physical health, it's also good for our mental health,” she said.

“It's also just to understand that it's not something to place to the side as though it can be ignored.

“It's really useful and important in a physiological sense.”

De-stress

Ms Regan said sex can help distract people from stresses in their personal or work lives.

“You're focusing on sex, you're not focusing on what happened in the office,” she said.

“It may take your mind off your troubles.

“We have serotonin release, we have dopamine release and of course, we have the oxytocin release.

“Five calories a minute, and of course, people are free to up or down that.”

Timing

Ms Regan said the timing of sex plays a large part in the level of satisfaction experienced.

“What has always come through is that women prefer evening sex and men preferred morning sex,” she said.

“Now that's looking a little different because a survey that was recently done with 500 Men and 500 women between 18 and 65 … what came out really was that morning sex was more satisfying for everyone.

“75% of that group picked morning sex, that's a complete turnaround.

“It seems to be that it's the 30 minutes after waking.

“That seems to be the change that more people are inclined to like and find greater satisfaction in the sex that happens in the morning.”

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