Ever woken up on New Year’s Day craving a sweaty sex session? You wouldn’t be alone.
While it might sound appealing to spend the first day of the year ordering the entire McDonald’s menu and stretching out on the sofa to watch reruns of ‘Friends’, new data has revealed that people have much freakier to-do lists in mind.
As part of their annual Our Year in Cycles analysis, period and ovulation app Clue found that in 2025, January 1 was officially the most popular day for sex across the whole world.
Having collected user’s logged sexual activity, the app discovered that when it came to getting jiggy under the sheets, the first day of the year trounced even the likes of Valentine’s Day and summer holidays.
So, what is it about New Year’s Day that’s got us all so horny?
Libido isn’t random, it’s responsive
For a lot of people, waking up on New Year’s Day is pure bliss: you have an entire day ahead of you to rot, without the fear of your Slack notifications popping off.
With your nervous system on pause, what better time to slot in a recreational activity or two?
And with Clue’s data indicating that January 1 saw peaks in high sex drive, orgasms and fantasies, it’s safe to say that users were experiencing a surge of intimacy.
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Clue chief medical officer Dr Charis Chambers tells Metro: ‘People are often surprised when they hear that January 1st is the most popular day for logging sex in the UK, but to me it reflects something fundamental about how our bodies and minds work.’
Let’s be real, no-one’s aroused while trying to elbow your way past entitled bulge blockers on the tube. In fact a recent survey by audio erotica platform Bloom Stories found that travelling to the office is killing intimacy for one in three office workers.
So, with no overcrowded public transport or last-minute work deadline, what we’re left with is ‘time, rest, and proximity to those we care about,’ all of which are ingredients Dr Chambers shares are compatible with intimacy.
According to Gigi Engle, sex and relationships psychotherapist and resident sex expert at the dating app 3Fun, our libidos spike when our bodies shift out of ‘survival mode.’
Do you think you're good in bed?
Ever wondered how skilled you are in the bedroom? Metro recently spoke with sex and relationship experts Gigi Engle and Annabelle Knight to try and pin down exactly what makes for a good lover. Here are some of the main points they highlighted – how many do you tick?
- You’re not just focused on ‘finishing’
- You’re comfortable with slowing things down
- You bring genuine enthusiasm
- You ask – and actually listen to the answer
- You notice and respond to non-verbal cues
- You aren’t afraid of boundaries
- You handle nervousness or change well
- You treat aftercare as a part of sex
- Your partner wants to do it again
With ‘fewer obligations, fewer demands, and more physical closeness with our partners,’ our stress-responses are able to take a back seat.
In fact, Gigi shares that ‘from a psychophysiological perspective, this context is far more erotically supportive than a forced “romantic” holiday like Valentine’s Day, which often comes with pressure and expectations (which are two major desire killers).’
Madeleine Roantree, a psychologist who specialises in dating and relationships, adds: ‘I think it’s less about the symbolism of the date and more about the rare opportunity to rest deeply — something many of us don’t get nearly enough of.’
Were you born in September…?
Something that definitely backs up Clue’s data is the fact that September is the most popular month for births in the UK.
In fact, according to the Office for National Statistics, September 26 has been the most popular day to be born over the last two decades – this particular day falls 39 weeks and two days after Christmas day.
Eight of the top 10 dates of birth were towards the end of September – with the other 2 being early October. This definitely backs up the idea that getting freaky on New Year’s Day remains popular.
A number of couples sometimes favour getting pregnant at this time because of supposed academic advantages children can have at school if they’re among the eldest in their year.
For example, a paper published by the Centre for Educational Neuroscience found that at age seven, August-born pupils are 26 percentage points less likely to reach the nationally expected level than their September-born class-mates.
New Year’s Day can be emotionally loaded
If you can’t relate to this feeling, that’s also totally understandable. Gigi reminds us that for plenty of people, New Year’s Day is ’emotionally loaded’.
‘It can be marked by anxiety, reflection, or dread about what’s ahead in the year to come. Stress doesn’t look the same for everyone, and neither does desire,’ she says.
And of course, the spike in app data on Janurary 1st might also reflect some New Year’s revolutions, with people deciding to log their sexual and reproductive health more at the start of the year, then gradually dropping off.
So, what should we take from the Clue data? It isn’t necessarily the case that everyone on Earth is jonesing for sex on January 1st, but it’s still a timely reminder of how sweet life can be if you only give yourself a little more downtime.
Why was September 10 a global libido low?
Clue’s data also revealed that September 10 was reported as the year’s global ‘not tonight’ moment – with the app tracking low libido levels among users. But why?
Quite a few significant events took place on September 10. Across the globe there was as escalation of violence. There were further airstrikes in Gaza, political unrest in Nepal, military action in Yemen, and the assassination of American far-right activist Charlie Kirk.
Anxiety and stress directly impacts libido. In the same way that a relaxed nervous system might encourage better sex, a disrupted and tense one would likely deter it.
