{"id":658140,"date":"2026-06-25T21:02:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T21:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/658140\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T21:02:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T21:02:14","slug":"how-to-keep-your-sex-life-going-in-a-heatwave-an-expert-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/658140\/","title":{"rendered":"How to keep your sex life going in a heatwave \u2013 an expert guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

As scorching weather continues<\/a> across the UK, for some, the thought of sex is unbearable. It doesn\u2019t seem coincidental that following the great heatwave of 1976, birth rates in 1977 were lower than at any other period between 1960 and 2012<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But rising temperatures can raise libido, says Gemma Nice, a sex and relationship coach. \u201cFor some people, the heat and the sun boost the production of hormones responsible for joy, pleasure and connection like serotonin and dopamine. For others, the heat causes fatigue and irritability. For them, being touched can set off an anxiety response.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nice has heard her fair share of stories about couples trying to keep the spark alive in heatwaves. \u201cI worked with a couple who decided to bring a bag of frozen peas into the bed to keep things cool while they fooled around. Within three minutes, the bag split, the peas had defrosted, and they ended up rolling around in a lukewarm, soggy mess of mushy vegetables. It completely killed the mood and resulted in no sex at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nice says if your body doesn\u2019t feel comfortable and safe, your libido is going to lock down completely. You have to work with the heat, not against it. \u201cWhen it is simply too hot for any sexual or physical contact, you have to move towards mental and emotional intimacy, whether that\u2019s self-pleasure, mutual masturbation or other ways to keep the spark alive.\u201d<\/a> Here she outlines some ways to stay intimate during a heatwave.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t endure hot, sweaty cuddles<\/p>\n

How well you know each other absolutely impacts how you interact during warm weather, says Nice. \u201cWith long-term partners<\/a> they can just be upfront and honest with each other and say, \u2018I love you, but it is too hot to touch me right now,\u2019 without causing an argument. These couples can happily starfish across the bed or sleep in separate rooms to get a good night\u2019s rest without anyone feeling disconnected or having abandonment attachment issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

But she explains that newly dating couples can feel anxious about looking perfect or upsetting each other, \u201cso they often endure hot, sweaty cuddles just to please the other person.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a new relationship, Nice advises to break the tension by having an open and honest conversation about the weather. Choose dates with built-in air conditioning, like going to the cinema, taking a slow walk through an art gallery, or having a nice meal at a restaurant. \u201cInstead of ignoring the issue or powering through, talking about it together actually builds a deeper emotional and stronger bond for you to go the long haul.\u201d<\/p>\n

Take penetrative sex off the table<\/p>\n

Nice says that in a heatwave, trying to have full penetrative sex may make you feel lightheaded, tired, and can even lead to erectile dysfunction because the body is overheating and under too much pressure to perform.<\/p>\n

Agreeing sex does not have to lead to penetration can make things easier, she says. \u201cFooling around without penetration can actually strengthen a couple\u2019s intimacy. It breaks the routine and removes the pressure of both the physical body and overexertion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nice says that forgoing penetrative sex builds a slow-burning tension and anticipation that actually leads to more intense orgasms once the temperature drops.<\/p>\n

Indulge in some dirty talk<\/p>\n

If dirty talk doesn\u2019t give you the ick, Nice suggests indulging. \u201cLie completely still on opposite sides of the bed, or even across the room from each other in your underwear. Close your eyes and take turns describing a highly detailed, sexual scenario,\u201d says Nice.<\/p>\n

Because you aren\u2019t distracted by physical movement, your focus is entirely on your partner\u2019s voice and the images they are painting. This can help build a massive amount of tension and sexual desire.<\/p>\n

Breathwork and eye-gazing<\/p>\n

Nice suggests trying synchronised breathwork to help build the sexual tension. \u201cThis syncs up your nervous systems and can actually trigger a deep, full-body energetic response without any physical stimulation at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sit or lie down facing each other, just close enough to look into each other\u2019s eyes but without your skin touching. Set a timer for 5 to 10 minutes. Hold eye contact without speaking. Breathe in sync, inhale together, exhale together.<\/p>\n

If this makes you giggle, don\u2019t worry. Nice says: \u201cOnce you settle into it, the emotional safety it creates is highly intoxicating and deeply arousing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indulge in some mutual play<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re too hot to be in contact with your partner, Nice suggests setting up a fan so it moves between you both, and touch yourselves while looking directly into each other\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n

As she explains: \u201cYou get the visual turn on of seeing your partner aroused, you can hear their breath change, but you aren\u2019t sharing any body heat. It takes away all the anxiety around actual penetration because you are completely in control of your own physical comfort and pacing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strip off and chill out together<\/p>\n

If it\u2019s just too hot to do anything sexual, Nice recommends stripping down to your underwear, putting a cold ice pack on your feet, and watching a movie together on the sofa or in bed. She explains: \u201cJust sharing the space and being close to each other but not actually touching creates a strong sense of being comfortable with each other strengthening the bond.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why you shouldn\u2019t have sex in the sea<\/p>\n

Social media is full of heatwave sex hacks that Nice says you need to be wary of. \u201cOne of the most popular is having sex in a swimming pool or the sea. This is a terrible idea in practice. Water actually washes away your body\u2019s natural lubrication, creating intense friction against the delicate erectile and vaginal tissue. This causes micro tears, severe irritation, and drastically increases the risk of getting a urinary tract infection or a yeast infection, which no one wants.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while a fan may be a saviour in the bedroom while you are trying to sleep, don\u2019t point the fan directly at the bed during sex. According to Nice: \u201cWhile it sounds nice, blasting high speed chilly air directly onto your hot, damp skin during sex [it] can cause sudden muscle cramps and dry out your eyes and throat, instantly bringing you out of the moment. If you do use a fan, keep it moving to circulate the air instead. It can also dry out your genitals meaning you may create friction and soreness again.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As scorching weather continues across the UK, for some, the thought of sex is unbearable. It doesn\u2019t seem…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":658141,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[242,59,102,1103,1102,7335,576,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-658140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-features","tag-gb","tag-health","tag-heatwave","tag-hot-weather","tag-sex","tag-sex-and-relationships","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=658140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658140\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/658141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=658140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=658140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=658140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}