Turns out that the holiday season doesn\u2019t just bring joy and smiles: it also sees a, um, spike in people\u2019s interest in sex, according to researchers.<\/p>\n

In a study published in\u00a0the Scientific Reports journal<\/a>, scientists revealed that people across\u00a0the globe, regardless of\u00a0their religion, become a little more frisky during\u00a0significant holidays such as\u00a0Christmas.<\/p>\n

The joint team of\u00a0researchers, all hailing from\u00a0the US, the Netherlands and Portugal, used both Google Trends and Twitter to\u00a0analyze online searches from\u00a0nearly 130 countries that included populations devoted to Christianity.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The Alphabet-owned site was used to\u00a0zero in\u00a0on word searches from\u00a02004 to\u00a02014, while Twitter was tapped for\u00a0the years between\u00a02010 and 2014, to\u00a0look at\u00a0sentiments expressed by\u00a0users. To determine where the user\u2019s feelings stood, officials used the Affective Norms for\u00a0English Words, a \u201cnormative emotional rating\u201d to\u00a0determine arousal, dominance and pleasure, according to\u00a0the University of\u00a0Florida\u2019s Center for\u00a0the Study of\u00a0Emotion and Attention<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rise of\u00a0the web and social media provides the unprecedented power to\u00a0analyze changes in\u00a0people\u2019s collective mood and behavior on\u00a0a massive scale,\u201d Luis Rocha, a researcher who co-led the study, said in\u00a0a statement. \u201cThis study is the first \u2018planetary-level\u2019 look at\u00a0human reproduction as\u00a0it relates to\u00a0people\u2019s moods and interest in\u00a0sex online.\u201d<\/p>\n

The analysis ultimately revealed to\u00a0officials that interests in\u00a0sex spiked during\u00a0major cultural or religious celebrations based on\u00a0the increased use of\u00a0the word \u201csex\u201d or similar sexual terms in\u00a0web searches. Officials later indicated that the peak corresponded with\u00a0an increase in\u00a0births nine months after\u00a0the holiday in\u00a0countries that provided birth-rate data.However, the study did not find the same correlation when it came to\u00a0holidays such as\u00a0Easter and Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe observe that Christmas are characterized by\u00a0distinct collective moods that correlate with\u00a0increased fertility,\u201d Rocha said. \u201cPerhaps people feel a greater motivation to\u00a0grow their families during\u00a0holidays when the emphasis is on\u00a0love and gift-giving to\u00a0children.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Christmas season is also associated with\u00a0stories about\u00a0the baby Jesus and holy family, which may put people in\u00a0a loving, happy, \u2018family mood,’\u201d the researcher added.<\/p>\n

Though previous studies suggested that an increase in\u00a0sex is related to\u00a0the changing of\u00a0the seasons, researchers tossed out\u00a0the notion that biological shifts caused by\u00a0daylight, temperature and food availability played a role, since\u00a0the study looked at\u00a0countries across\u00a0the world.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

According to\u00a0Rocha, the findings can help public health researchers pinpoint the best time of\u00a0the year for\u00a0launching public awareness campaigns to\u00a0encourage safe sex.<\/p>\n

The study was conducted by\u00a0researchers from\u00a0Indiana University, Wageningen University and the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ci\u00eancia.<\/p>\n

Article first appeared at TSG VICE. Click here to go there!<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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