When it comes to putting you in the mood, different things work for different people. Some prefer massage oils and candles while others, it seems, prefer to turn up the bass.
A new global study of 22,000 people by sex toy and lingerie company Lovehoney has revealed the nations most likely to listen to music during sex.
The top spot goes to the good people of Spain, where nearly four in five people (78%) have listened to music while getting busy. Spanish people were also most likely to listen to music while masturbating (57%).
In second place was Switzerland, where 60% of people listen to music while they make love, closely followed by Germany (59.9%) and Italy (56%).
The UK came in fifth place – with 55% of us preferring to listen to music during intercourse. Women are the most likely to listen to music during sex (60%) and self-pleasure (45%) when compared to men (49% and 36% respectively).
Meanwhile, the 18-24 age group are much more likely to stick a background tune on in the bedroom, with 70% saying so.
What are we listening to, then? Well, it was found that pop music (33%) is the favoured genre for sex playlists, followed by R’n’B (25%) and, perhaps surprisingly, rock (22%).
Meanwhile 7% of people prefer to listen to heavy metal when getting it on.
The survey findings were released as part of Lovehoney’s celebration of Eurovision – the sex toy company is hosting its very own ‘Euro Party’, where each country is assigned a sex toy and the public can cast their vote.
There is some science behind why we might like to listen to music when being intimate. According to neuropsychologist Dr Rhonda Freeman, music can have a direct effect on the pleasure and bonding areas of the brain.
This is because music is likely to affect three regions of the brain: the reward or pleasure system, the social affiliation or bonding system, and the system which processes emotions, she explained to Elite Daily.
When triggered by music, “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 said.
In 2020, an analysis of more than 300,000 songs by lingerie brand Pour Moi revealed the top songs people listen to on Spotify during sex. And The Weeknd and Jeremih featured highly.
Songs in the top five included:
1. All The Time - Jeremih,
2. Often - The Weeknd,
3. Earned It - The Weeknd,
4. Birthday Sex - Jeremih,
5. Neighbors Know My Name - Trey Songz.