There is a reason why music and sex go so well together, and it actually has a lot to do with science. Neuropsychologist Dr. Rhonda Freeman says that music is likely to affect three regions of the brain — the reward or pleasure system, the social affiliation or bonding system, and the limbic system (which processes emotions).
When triggered, the reward system, for example, involves dopamine and endogenous opioids. Dr. Freeman explains, “Dopamine is a neurotransmitter linked with desire, wanting, craving, motivation, or anticipation of someone or something — in this instance, of our intimate partner. And endogenous opioids are the hedonic response, which includes pleasure and enjoyment.”
“Those systems not only allow the pleasurable experience of sex to be amplified with music, but they also allow music to deepen your connection with your partner while subduing negative emotions,” she explains, and that has a lot to do with oxytocin.
Here’s how else music affects your brain when you’re being intimate with your partner.
According to a study done by Sonos, the smart speaker system, 67 percent of couples that listen to music out loud together report having more sex than couples who don’t listen to music together. The reason is that when you listen to music out loud, your neurons (nerve cells that transmit information throughout the body) begin operating at the same rate as your partner’s, which releases oxytocin (the love hormone). Oxytocin is also responsible for feelings of trust so, naturally, things become more intimate between you and your partner when there’s music on in the bedroom.
However overdone it is on the big screen, Hollywood might actually have the right of at least one of those things being the key to awesome sex. It turns out that music is actually a radical way to get yourself in the mood for love, increase your dopamine levels, revive a waning sex drive, and, according to researchers, even give you a rocking “skin orgasm.” There’s no doubt that certain songs trigger the urge to get romantic in people. In Britain, a survey to determine the songs that people were most likely to associate with sex determined that Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” was at the top of the charts, followed by Rihanna’s “Skin” and even Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop”. These were the songs that people most used to “set the mood.”
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Just about everyone has their preferred type of music to have sex to, and some people even have specific songs that get them ready. There’s no denying that music’s influence and the inextricable tie to sex are well known, but just why does it affect us this way?
Well, it turns out there are lots of reasons.
When we listen to music, it can help fire up some dopamine — the pleasure hormone — and get us happy. However, this same hormone is also released during sex, which means that our brains are essentially getting amped on the same drug, which means that we come to associate sex with music.
Another reason is that when we listen to music and get this increase in dopamine, we also start to associate it with whoever we’re with, which can evoke emotional feelings directly correlated to that person. If the relationship is a romantic one, then the songs that you listened to together also become inexorably tied to love, romance, and yes, sex. Songs can literally “pump us up,” empower us and get our primal drives going. Neuroscientists have said that “virtually all people” respond more to a lower-pitched beat than they do to something higher, which is why most pop music doesn’t cut it in the bedroom. Anything with bass is quite soothing to our ears and can get your heart rate going and alter your mood.
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Of course, this low tone can also cause quite a lot of vibrations, which people find… rather pleasing, for obvious reasons. Some people even have a physical response when they listen to music that produces a reaction similar to orgasm — trembling, sweating, arousal, increased heart rate— which is, in effect, your skin “orgasming” to the music and the dopamine you’re experiencing. Music has a powerful, primal connection in our heads, and can literally change the way that we’re feeling, what we’re thinking about, or get us into a particular mindset. It’s a wonderful experience that shouldn’t be taken for granted, so if you have a specific “sexy time” song that you love to play, then don’t be afraid to use it and light some candles, no matter how cliché it might seem, because it really does work.
SOURCE: Lyons,B. (2018) Listening To Music During Sex Has These 3 Effects On Your Body & Brain / Najjar, M. (2017) Listening To Music During Sex Gives You Better Orgasms