Do not use your bed for anything except sleep; that is, do not read, watch television, eat, or worry in bed. Sexual activity is the only exception to this rule. On such occasions, the instructions are to be followed afterward when you intend to go to sleep.
I have trouble parsing that last sentence. Could you clarify?
Why is sexual activity an exception, and what counts as sexual activity? E.g. does masturbation?
The purpose of Stimulus Control Therapy is to avoid implicitly associating the bed with being awake. Just guessing, it seems reasonable that greylag is correct about sexual activity being a concession to practicality. I suspect that most people would resist any advice to switch their sex life to the living room.
I asked a sleep doc this: ”I’ve read a lot of advice about using the bed just for sleep and sex. I’m wondering if there’s actually some special reason why sex is an exception or if it’s just to be pragmatic (you don’t think people will actually refrain from using their beds for sex)?”
He said this: ”Good question. You’re right that it’s not about sex itself. Just that sex doesn’t really seem to interfere with the bed/sleep conditioning process. It (usually) does not take hours and hours like tossing and turning. Plus, there are reasons it may enhance ability to sleep...”
My common-sense understanding: if you have sex and then aren’t sleepy, get up.
I assume “beds are for sexual activity and sleep”, rather than just for sleep, is a concession to practicality and comfort. Similarly, prohibiting masturbation in bed would seem counterproductive.
(I’d imagine some people would be unhappy to forego reading in bed, also, but that’s different)
I have trouble parsing that last sentence. Could you clarify?
Why is sexual activity an exception, and what counts as sexual activity? E.g. does masturbation?
The purpose of Stimulus Control Therapy is to avoid implicitly associating the bed with being awake. Just guessing, it seems reasonable that greylag is correct about sexual activity being a concession to practicality. I suspect that most people would resist any advice to switch their sex life to the living room.
I asked a sleep doc this:
”I’ve read a lot of advice about using the bed just for sleep and sex. I’m wondering if there’s actually some special reason why sex is an exception or if it’s just to be pragmatic (you don’t think people will actually refrain from using their beds for sex)?”
He said this:
”Good question. You’re right that it’s not about sex itself. Just that sex doesn’t really seem to interfere with the bed/sleep conditioning process. It (usually) does not take hours and hours like tossing and turning. Plus, there are reasons it may enhance ability to sleep...”
My common-sense understanding: if you have sex and then aren’t sleepy, get up.
I assume “beds are for sexual activity and sleep”, rather than just for sleep, is a concession to practicality and comfort. Similarly, prohibiting masturbation in bed would seem counterproductive.
(I’d imagine some people would be unhappy to forego reading in bed, also, but that’s different)