Women suffering post-sex blues

The connection between sex and sadness has a long history. Photo / iStock

A good sex life is meant to make you happy. But nearly half of women find themselves feeling sad or tearful after making love, a study claims.

They suffer from what is known as the 'post-sex blues' - marked by tearfulness, melancholy feelings, depression, anxiety, agitation or aggression for up to four hours after lovemaking.

Researchers questioned 230 sexually active women aged between 18 and 55 on how often they felt this way.

They found that 46 per cent of respondents reported it at least once in their lifetime, with one in 20 experiencing symptoms several times within the preceding four weeks.

There was no connection between the level of intimacy between sexual partners and the prevalence of post-sex blues, the Australian study published in Sexual Medicine found.

But while this may seem like cutting-edge research, in fact the connection between sex and sadness has a long history - and in ancient times it was not believed to affect women.

The Ancient Greek doctor Galen wrote: "Every animal is sad after coitus except the human female and the rooster."

Reporting on the findings, lead author Dr Robert Schweitzer, of Queensland University of Technology, said: "The findings build upon our previous research investigating the correlates of sexual functioning in women.

"The results of our original research in this area have now been confirmed in a multi-national study on negative postcoital emotions, which appear to have evolutionary functions."

According to the authors of the paper, previous research into twins suggest that the cause of post-sex blues may have a genetic component - with one in four twins that have been studied in the UK suffering from the condition.

This research also indicates that some people who experience deep sadness after sex may have a history of sexual abuse - which colours how they deal with relationships.

This is because women with an abusive history "may be more prone to enter relationships in which they do not always feel in control of their experience", the authors wrote.

Another factor was that women who were more "emotionally reactive" were more prone to suffering the post-sex blues. These may be individuals who are "more sensitive or vulnerable to negative emotions, resulting in an acute period of depression or irritability" after sex.

Women who were less able to "differentiate" themselves from others also suffered symptoms more, the study found. The authors wrote that in some cases, women who "have a tendency to become fused with others" may feel that after sex they are undergoing a "separation" from their partner.

- Daily Mail