A new survey has revealed just how much New Zealanders valued their alone time during the six weeks of lockdown, with masturbation and the use of sex toys skyrocketing.
More than 1000 Kiwis answered a survey by online sex toy retailer Adultoymegastore, asking how they spent their time during COVID-19 alert levels 3 and 4.
During the long, lonely days spent indoors, a whopping 88 percent of respondents reported they'd been masturbating, with 38 percent saying they were masturbating "every other day" and 16 percent saying "every single day".
Sales of sex toys also reached record highs before and during lockdown, according to the website's head of customer satisfaction Sophie McGrath.
"Toys have been flying out the door," she said.
"I think over the weekend there will have been a lot of bubble bursting in level 2 with people finally getting to see their partners after up to eight weeks apart."
Around 26 percent of New Zealanders said they weren't able to have sex while in lockdown, which might explain the high sales figures.
Many respondents found their sex lives changed a lot due to lockdown, with 41 percent of respondents saying they'd had less sex. Only 18 percent of people said they'd had more sex and 38 percent said they'd had about the same amount.
The main explanation for less sex was "I'm in a bubble on my own" (23 percent) and "my partner is in another bubble" (20 percent). Other reasons for having less sex were being stressed, tired and not being able to get away from their children.
McGrath says it was great to see that people were choosing solo time over sneaking outside their bubbles for sex, against Government recommendations.
"Sex toys are becoming more and more mainstream and the stigma around masturbation is breaking down which is really great to see. During the lockdown New Zealanders took their responsibilities seriously and stayed inside even if their partner wasn't in their bubble," she said.
"We are pleased to see they have waited until level 2 to see their partners, and that they've used toys or enjoyed some self-love in self-isolation to keep safe."
Back in March, sex toy retailers reported a spike in sales of toys, batteries and lubricants before the country went into lockdown.
