Why It's So Hot to Have Sex On the Floor — and How to Make It Even More Incredible
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Between The Veronicas begging to be taken on the floor and Shaggy banging the neighbor on the bathroom floor, artists from the early 2000s made their viewpoint clear: Floor sex is hot as hell.
If you recently invested in a fancy new mattress, you might be quick to dismiss floor sex. But sexuality professionals agree that floor sex can indeed be some of the hottest sex you'll have.
Intrigued? Below, find out exactly why floor sex can be so damn pleasurable. Plus, get six tips for elevating your ground game.
Why Sex On the Floor Can Be So Amazing
Sure, your bed is great. But odds are, the last time you banged, it was in your bed… and the same goes for the time before… and the time before that. "Getting out of the routine of always doing it in the same place, and switching up location can add to the spontaneity, fun, and pleasure," says Texas-based sex educator Goody Howard, M.S.W., M.P.H., host of LICK!, a penis-focused oral sex workshop. "Heck, a new location may inspire new positions, sexy talk, noise level, and maybe even new a type pleasure that you didn't know was there," she says.
There's also something inherently animalistic about floor sex, says Zachary Zane, sex expert for sexual health and wellness brand Promescent. "There's something raw and primal about floor sex," he says. "It's like... we were so turned on, we couldn't even make it to the bed; we just had to stop what we were doing to have sex right here on the floor." 🔥🔥🔥
Further, for people whose bed has doubled as their desk since beginning to work remotely in March 2020, having sex on the floor may allow individuals to exit "work brain" and enter "sex brain" in the way having sex in a bed no longer does. "If you start to work from bed, your brain starts to associate your bed with work and not intimacy (or sleep)," explains Chris Winter, M.D., author of The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep is Broken and How to Fix It, and medical director of the Sleep Medicine Center at Martha Jefferson Hospital in Virginia. Meaning, there's a reason you can't stop thinking about your to-do list while you're trying to get (ahem) done. Even if you're not a work-from-bed person, a similar association between bed and not sex may stand if you've recently been sick in bed, nursing in bed, or have insomnia so being in bed just makes you feel inherently stressed.
Pleasure aside, having sex on the floor can actually be a safer, more comfortable place to bone. For starters, you can't fall off! "If your action gets athletic in the bed, you might find that taking it onto the floor gives you even more room to safely play," explains longtime sex educator Searah Deysach, owner of Early to Bed, a pleasure-product company in Chicago.
Second, because it's harder, you can get better leverage from the floor than the bed. "For certain standing and kneeling positions, a mattress is going to be too bouncy." A floor is hard, which can help you feel more grounded while getting it on.
How to Make Floor Sex As Pleasurable As Possible
1. Pick the floor wisely.
It sounds obvious, but whether the floor is carpeted, tiled, or covered in hardwood is going to greatly impact your floor sex experience. No material is necessarily better or worse, but each offers something different.
Hands down, a carpeted floor is going to be the most comfortable way for you to have sex on the floor, says queer sex educator Marla Renee Stewart, M.A., sexpert for Lovers adult wellness brand. Why? Because it offers built-in padding for knees, backs, and butts. If you don't have carpet, a yoga mat or bath mat are decent alternatives, she says.
But tiled floors have the added benefit of imbuing your scene with a little temperature play. Temperature play is a type of sensation play that involves using heat or cold to stimulate your nerves differently, explains Stewart. "For people who are into temperature play, the coolness of the tile can be a great way to excite your nerves and send a rush of endorphins through your system," she says. (You can also try temperature play with stainless steel sex toys.)
Into having sex on the floor all over your house? Start on the carpet, then switch to the hardwood or tiled floor when you're all hot and sweaty, suggests Zane. "We often get very hot while having sex. So the cool floors can be a great way to cool off while getting it on," he says.
2. Bring in pillows.
"If you're not comfortable during sex, you're not going to be able to enjoy it fully," says Zane. And that's exactly why recommends leaning on sex pillows and positioning wedges.
"Sex pillows and wedges are going to be your best friends when having floor sex because they can help prop your body up," he explains. For penetrative sex, for example, the receiver can put one under their hips in the missionary to angle their vulva or anus up, making it easier to penetrate. "These positioning tools can also help to remove pressure off of a body part like your back, knees, and neck," he says, which ultimately allows you to stay in the positions that you find more pleasurable for longer. Yee-haw!
Open to spending a little cash on a sex cushion? These sex pillows come expert-recommended. If you don't have extra the coin (or the time to wait for delivery!) any of the firm pillows you have lying around your house will suffice.
3. Lather up with lube… mindfully.
There is no sex act, position, or location that cannot be enhanced by lube. "Store-bought lube makes penetration and skin-to-skin contact more pleasant, and helps decrease the risk of barrier breakage," says Deysach.
Having lube on hand can also decrease the pressure many vagina-havers feel to be wet instantly, says Zane. "Songs like WAP make it seem like every vulva-owner will have dripping vagina the moment sex starts, but that's not the case," he says. There are many reasons why a vagina owner might not be wet (even when/if they are aroused!). To name a few, they're menopausal, on drying medication, stressed, or breastfeeding. "Having store-bought lubricant on hand removes any pressure around wetness, and allows you to have pleasurable sex no matter your natural lubrication levels," he says.
Lube also makes anal sex possible. "The anus, unlike the vagina, is NOT self-lubricating," says Zane. So, it's anatomically impossible to have a WAB (wet ass butt) unless you incorporate store-bought lube, he says. And a WAB is, indeed, a prerequisite for pleasurable, pain-free anal sex. (See More: No, Anal Sex Is Not Supposed to Be Painful)
For sex on the floor, Deysach recommends using a water-based lubricant. "Silicone lube can be really hard to clean out of the carpet and it makes wood and tile very slippery," she says. Promescent Water Lube (Buy it, $9, promescent.com), Sliquid Sassy (Buy it, $32, amazon.com), and Coconu Water Lube (Buy it, $32, babeland.com) are all good picks.
4. Be vocal.
"Not enough people communicate with their partner(s) or voice their desires while having sex," says Zane. "But when you say what you want to do, the sex is better for both of you because when you're enjoying sex more, your partner." (Keep reading: How to Tell Your Partner What You Want In Bed)
Some simple ways to communicate with your partner that you might try out, include:
That feels good!
Do you want me to add a finger?
How does this feel?
Can you return to the thing you were doing with your mouth?
Yes.
Are you comfortable?
While you're on the floor, be specifically mindful to share if you get uncomfortable. For example, if your knees get sore while giving a blow-job, or if your back starts to feel stiff during missionary. After all, it's tricky to fully enjoy the sex or climax if you're distracted by your achy joints or bruised tailbone.
Similarly, don't hesitate to moan with pleasure, or groan with dissatisfaction while you have sex on the floor. Sexuality researchers agree that allowing yourself to make authentic noises while having sex can make it feel better. (See More: What Your Sex Noises Really Mean)
5. Consider making floor sex cozy.
Having sex on the floor is a fave act amongst erotica protagonists. So, why not take a page from your favorite romance novelist and cozy up your coitus space? Answer: There's no reason not to.
"Snuggling up on the floor in front of the fire on a bearskin rug is a classic," says Deysach. "If you are out of animal pelts, grabbing a comforter or a few blankets can make getting busy on the floor more comfy and cozy, too."
