January has never been the most alluring month, but are onesies, slippers and Borgen marathons inevitable parts of seasonal hibernation or signs of a shift in attitudes toward sex?

When today’s commute and the upcoming work day are done, what are you most looking forward to? Let us guess: putting on those fleecy slipperboots you got for Christmas, eating something made from pasta and cheese, and watching Netflix in your baggiest pyjama bottoms. Because this is January: comfort is king.

Despite maintaining impeccable appearances at work, what we wear behind closed doors is another matter entirely. And what our partners might think of our afterwork apparel doesn’t even come into it because, seriously, who wants to flounce around in sheer nighties and lace-trimmed hold-ups when it’s -2°C outside? And if we’re single, the thought of enduring a walk to and from a bar for a date, which could be nothing more than two hours of wasted time, is just not worth the effort. Nights of endless passion are as far from our minds as Havaianas and leg waxes. It’s cold, we need carbs and the time between reluctantly removing that onesie – which research shows one in eight of us now own – to the point we’re toasty under the covers must be kept to an absolute minimum.

It could be argued that January – with the bed socks, chapped skin and constant attachment to a hot water bottle – is the unsexiest month of the year. But is our growing predilection to spend evenings eating nachos and wearing onesies just about keeping warm, or a sign of something much bigger than a post-new year slump?

A lot of responsibility for the rise of the onesie lands at the feet of celebrities (Cara Delevingne’s love of hers is well documented). And when supermodels are wearing clothes that have essentially been upsized from a toddlers’ (Peter Pan collars, dungarees, ankle socks), infantilised style suddenly becomes the norm. But the clothes also infantilise the wearer, however you look at it. Dressing as a giant baby – even in the comfort of your own home – is not a look that screams ‘assured and sexually assertive’ to the vast majority.

And while it could be argued that such outfits reflect our – and the nation’s – mood; that giant babygros make us feel more secure in a world that is increasingly difficult to navigate; and that it’s fittingly good-humoured apparel for Generation Y, which is struggling to reach adult status on more practical terms due to housing bubbles and lack of jobs, it’s certainly not a gilded path to seduction.

Making the effort

That attitude of grooming ourselves to perfection for the office but donning threadbare tracksuit bottoms at home sparks warning bells for dating expert James Preece. “We are a generation that finds it far more acceptable to make less effort,” he says. “And I believe that can be detrimental to our sex lives.”

It may sound simplistic but with a recent once-a-decade poll from the National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles of 15,000 Brits showing that 16-34 year olds are having less sex than ever – fewer than five times per month compared with more than six times per month in the previous two decades – the decline has to find its origins somewhere.

Of course, our propensity to revert to grubby university hoodies at home (or even while doing the supermarket shop) is far from the whole story. The study cites aspects of ‘modern life’ such as our growing dependence on the internet to communicate with friends (and catch up with Breaking Bad) as well as the economic downturn and its consequential 1am financial panics as likely causes of the dip in sexual activity. For those whose jobs are secure, attempts to find a balance to long hours in the office often means evenings packed with Zumba, Spanish lessons and an unrelenting social schedule, leaving no time for partners or forging romantic relationships. So by the time you do fall into bed, all you lust after is six precious hours of uninterrupted sleep.

“There are too many distractions, there’s always something else to do,” says Dr Cath Mercer, senior lecturer in the Centre for Sexual Health at University College London. “There’s always something on the television, there’s always the internet. For couples, that’s a particular issue as you can always take a tablet into the bedroom. Our parents would have finished work earlier, the commute would have taken less time, then they would have had dinner and maybe read a book. That’s as complicated as it got. Even 10 years ago, if we wanted to check our email we’d have to go to the trouble of booting up the home computer. Now, our email is just there on our phones. Throw in the fact that sex in long-term relationships often happens when you go to bed, if you’re attached to a gadget… sex is just much less likely to happen.”

Are onesies making us celibate?