It’s not always easy to have fun in temperatures over 40 degrees… But it would still be a shame to do without it.

Yes, summer is good for sex. That’s a fact. We are generally on vacation, more relaxed, more available, less caught up in the frenzy of everyday life. The bodies are exposed, simply dressed in a little short dress or a tight t-shirt. The figures bear this out: according to an IFOP survey from 2017 , 73% of men and 63% of women say they want to make love more during the summer, but only 58% of men and 54% of women actually do more at this time.

It must be said that the hormones are boiling. Light increases the secretion of serotonin, the hormone of happiness and motivation . Dr. Albert Barbaro , sexologist, confirms : “It gives us more joy, more cheerfulness, so we are more inclined to meet people and to be interested in our sexuality.”

Nine months after each heat wave, there are 5 to 6% fewer births.

In addition, cortisol decreases and drives out stress, which is not our libido’s best ally. Not to mention the vitamin D secreted by the skin in contact with the sun, which boosts testosterone in men, the sex hormone par excellence. So far, nothing new under the sun.

The heat wave inhibits our libido

The heat is okay, but the heat wave is something else. There is no more serotonin and relaxation that hold. A report by the National Institute for Demographic Studies (INED) revealed that nine months after each heat wave, there were 5 to 6% fewer births. The effects of high heat are deleterious for the parts of the legs in the air. At the top of the discomforts felt comes first excessive sweating for 63% of people questioned by Opinon Way for CLIMSOM ; then sleep disorders (60%) and the feeling of fatigue (59%). In this context, there is not much room for a little sex marathon.

However, we will have to find a way to accommodate ourselves to these climate changes, especially as the situation is going to get worse. “With climate change, these events happen earlier and last until later in the year, they are also more intense than what they may have been in the past ,” explains Aglaé Jezequel, climatologist . “Today is the exception, but the climate is changing and we can already expect the heat waves to come earlier.”

We’re still not going to stop the sex! Especially since many researchers have shown that making love is good for your health , whether at the level of stress, for strengthening the heart and even to protect against certain cancers. Oxytocin, the breastfeeding and orgasm hormone, would protect women from breast cancer. On the men’s side, frequent ejaculations reduce the risk of prostate cancer. It also improves blood circulation, and regular sexual activity increases neural connections.

In the event of strong heat, the French are 37% to plebiscite the doggy style

Small bonus: according to the British psychologist David Weeks, sex could make us gain seven years of age … in appearance. A real makeover. It is therefore impossible to do without it: it is a medical prescription.

The only beneficial effect of the heat wave found to date: the “summer penis” effect , in other words the fact that the penis grows considerably because the blood vessels, under the effect of the heat, dilate. Do you still have to want or be able to use it? For this, there are solutions to continue loving ourselves “under the sun exactly” .

Be hot without being hot

First, take advantage of this period of languor to make love in a more sensual, slower way, and find other ways to please yourself without necessarily going as far as penetration. Then, why not opt ​​for erotic games with ice cubes or an atomizer, and choose a minty lubricant that will provide a feeling of freshness. Maybe you need to change your habits and indulge in the “coldest” hours of the day, between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m., although 43% of people say they prefer to have sex in the evening .

Question position, in case of strong heat, the French are 37% to plebiscite the doggy style ( according to an Amorelie survey ), where the skin to skin remains quite limited. No risk of sticking. Then, for the place, there is the tiling of the kitchen or the bathroom. Of course, many will be tempted by an aquatic experience in a swimming pool or the sea, even if chlorine or salt water are not the best allies of our antics .

Either way, stay hydrated. “During sex, you increase your heart rate, you sweat a lot ,” recalls Céline Vendé, sexologist and couple therapist in Bordeaux (Gironde). “You have to take the same precautions as for a sports activity, because sex mobilizes energy. The metabolism is tested, often due to poor sleep due to the heat, and the fatigue that accumulates. On your marks, get set, sex.