faces of a married couple lying in bed sleeping
I’m honored to be guest posting at Julie Sibert’s blog, Intimacy in Marriage, today. As part of her “What is Destroying Sex in Your Marriage?” series, I’m talking about the effects of exhaustion and the toll it can take on sex and intimacy in marriages:
Do you often feel too exhausted to be interested in sex? If so, you’re not alone. A study by the National Sleep Foundation found that 25% of spouses say they’re frequently too tired for sex, but I’d guess that the percentage is actually higher. In fact, if I was a betting woman, I’d bet that exhaustion is causing more damage to sex in marriage than anything else. Not because it’s the worst problem – clearly things like infidelity and childhood sexual abuse are much worse – but because it’s so widespread. It pervades modern marriage and family life and, in some ways, has become a badge of honor. After all, if I’m so busy that I’m exhausted all the time, it must mean I’m important, I’m needed, or I’m busy doing God’s work. Right?
Well, maybe. But if you’re so tired all the time that sex in your marriage is suffering, something needs to change. And the reality is that the culture we live in has set us up for this; it’s created a perfect storm of busyness, stress, and overstimulation that is, frankly, exhausting. And we’ve allowed it, by allowing unrealistic expectations, community commitments, electronic devices – even church activities – to rob us of joy, health, and peace of mind. And then we wonder why we’re too tired to focus on our marriages and enjoy sex with our husbands or wives!
If you feel exhausted much of the time and find that you’re frequently too tired for sex, here are 5 steps you can take to feel more rested and take better care of yourself and your marriage – please click over to Intimacy in Marriage to read the rest of the article.
Sharing with Family Fun Friday.
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