A survey of 1,670 Canadian adults carried out earlier this month for the Better Sleep Council Canada indicated that 55 percent of women said they preferred extra sleep, while 57 percent of men said they had more carnal leanings.

Couples counselor Karen Hirscheimer said in a release the results were puzzling.

"What is surprising is that we so often hear about people feeling dissatisfied with their sex life and 45 percent of Canadians say having more time would help them have better sex," she said. "But now with an extra hour, many are turning it down in favor of more sleep. This speaks to how sleep deprived our culture has become."

Hirscheimer said, "The battle of the sexes has become a battle over sleep or sex" and, left unchecked, "can turn the bedroom into more of a battleground than a love den."

The survey was conducted by Leger Marketing and has a margin of error of 2.4 percentage points, the release said.