You may be more likely to injure your penis during Christmas, new research suggests
A new study suggests that we might be friskier during the holiday season, leading to more intense — and dangerous — sex.
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- Intense sex during Christmas may be ending in embarrassing trips to the hospital.
- New research suggests there's a high risk of getting a penile fracture during Christmas.
- That may be because holiday spirit may be leading to more dangerous, intense sex, per the research.
Christmas might be making us friskier, leading to intense sex — and more embarrassing trips to the emergency room, new research suggests.
In a paper published in the British Journal of Urology this year, researchers analyzed 3,421 cases of men who went to the hospital because of a penile fracture between 2005 to 2021.
Researchers define a penile fracture — which they say often occurs during rowdy sexual intercourse — as an audible crack in the penis, followed by severe pain, swelling, and bruising in the genital area.
"This injury tends to occur during wild sex – particularly in positions where you're not in direct eye contact [with your partner], such as the reverse cowgirl," said Dr. Nikolaos Pyrgides, one of the lead researchers of this study, told The Guardian.
Researchers didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment made outside of normal business hours.
Not all holidays are linked to an increase in penile fractures
The study suggests that there were significantly higher incidents of penile fractures within the German hospital system during Christmas than in other parts of the year. That could be because the holidays, researchers say, may stir up intense feelings of joy and euphoria that may show up in the bedroom — for better or for worse.
"If every day was like Christmas, 43% more penile fractures would have occurred in Germany from 2005 on," researchers wrote in the study.
Not all holidays warrant a painful sex injury. New Year's Eve wasn't linked to increased cases of penile fractures, researchers found. However, there was a reported uptick in cases during weekends, as well as summers, where vacations tend to be linked to increased sexual activity, the research finds.
While the researchers don't discourage the aroused from abstaining from sex, they warn couples to be mindful of the intensity of the sex they're having this holiday season.
"Our findings place a demand on couples to reduce 'wild sex' during moments of relaxation to reduce the risk of penile fractures," the researchers conclude.