New study suggests phone’s blue-light exposure before sex may reduce natural arousal signals in both men and women

A new round of clinical data released this week suggests that the blue spectrum light from smartphone screens — especially when viewed within 30–60 minutes before intimacy — may significantly reduce natural arousal signalling in both men and women.

The proposed mechanism is not “stress” or “distraction” alone, but neurobiological interruption:

• melatonin suppression

• delayed parasympathetic activation

• increased cortical alertness (aka stay-awake mode)

• delayed vasodilation sequences which normally support genital smooth muscle relaxation

The researchers reported that even participants with high sexual desire baseline showed measurable dampening of sensation and slower “warm-up time” when phones were used in bed right before physical closeness.

This effect was strongest with:

• doomscrolling

• short-form video

• late-night chat threads

• bright screen presets

In contrast — those who used audio-only (eg: music, guided relaxation) did not show the same interruption effect.

What makes this finding newsworthy is that clinicians until recently assumed “blue light = sleep disruption problem.”

Now it appears it might silently be a sexual readiness disruption too.