The Sex Files: Survey reveals couples' unusual use of Apple AirPods

Music has neuro-psychological effects on us and our sexual experiences. Photo / Getty Images

Plenty of people like a little music in the bedroom. But a survey has revealed an unusual take on the notion of listening for pleasure, writes Lee Suckling.

Do you like to listen to music while you're having sex? Considering a lot of music is about nothing but it, it's not surprising. A little Ariana Grande is great for getting in a hot n' heavy mood.

Imagine listening to different music than your sexual partner, however, and how that would change the experience. Your grooves would be completely different. You're jamming to John Legend and they're on Madonna's new album. This isn't fiction: one in five people who own Apple AirPods have had sex with them in, according to a survey by TickPicks. It brings entirely new meaning to the idea of a "personal playlist".

Music has neuro-psychological effects on us and our sexual experiences. It actually affects three zones in our brains: the reward and pleasure part, the bonding part, and the limbic system which processes our emotions. This allows sexual pleasure to actually be amplified with music, and to deepen the experience with your sexual partner.

Here's how it works:

When the reward and pleasure part of your brain is triggered, dopamine is released. This makes you feel pleasure, and subdues negative emotions. Both sexual contact and music can have this effect on you, resulting in a double-up of pleasure. What's more, both music and sex help release oxytocin, commonly known as the "love drug". This chemical plays a pivotal role in social bonding and makes people feel close to each other.

Sonos, a manufacturer of speakers, might argue that the use of AirPods won't result in these positive neuro-psychological effects. Popping in headphones is a waste of your time (and not to mention, so terribly rude).

This is because – according to a study by the brand – 67 per cent of couples who listen to music out loud together report having more sex than couples who don't listen to music together. Scientifically, this is because the neurons that transmit information to your bodies start to sync and operate on the same wavelength. The oxytocin released is palpable: your and your partner's bodies are literally humming the same tune.

Music also provides both people in a bed with rhythmic coordination to move to. This allows for a more seamless sexual experience where both partners are on the same page in terms of speed and general mood. Got The XX on in your bedroom? You're probably both following a slow, soulful, "lovemaking" kind of vibe. Is Nicki Minaj bopping in the background? Your sex is probably making the same sounds as people running in jandals (take a moment to think about that one if you need to).

The TickPicks research suggests that the type of music you listen to correlates to the kind of sexual positions you'll get yourselves into. Hip-hop listeners reportedly like doggy style. Heavy metal fans like cowboy/girl and reverse cowboy/girl. People who listen to EDM are most likely to be into anal sex. (As a side note, country music fans are the least likely to use protection, and 25 per cent of people who listen to folk music like Mumford & Sons have cried during sex. Go figure).

What does all of this mean? You need to make a sex music mixtape, because a playlist of music will improve your sex life. Streaming services like Spotify are great for this because you can start with one song (I used Beyonce's "Partition"; maybe the sexiest song ever recorded) and have an algorithm populate a list of songs like it.

There's just one downside, according to the Sonos study. The music might be so good that you'll fall into the 39 per cent of people who enjoy listening to it MORE than they enjoy having sex. But this is probably not much of a problem, as long as you're not listening to the new Miley Cyrus INSTEAD of paying sexual attention to your partner.