Want To Switch Up Your Sex Routine? Add A Mirror To Your Bedroom, Experts Say

Work: stressful. The kids: relentless. The world: burning. It’s very easy to fall into a sexual rut when you spend the rest of the day just surviving, and also, is anyone currently rolling in disposable income to spend on fun new toys? Yeah, didn’t think so. Fortunately, sex experts say you don’t need to go out and drop a bunch of cash on new things to spice up your sex life. You also don’t have to try folding yourself into any insane new positions. All you need, apparently, is something you likely already have somewhere in your home: a mirror.

Honestly, when you’re in a long-term relationship, you probably also follow a bit of a routine during sex because you both just know what works. So, don’t reinvent the wheel, just change how you see it. “People often assume they need to reinvent their sex life completely to feel that excitement again,” says sex expert Jenna Brightwell from Monsta Toys, a fantasy-driven adult toy brand. “But sometimes, it’s about changing how you experience what already works. In long-term relationships, it’s easy to feel like you’ve tried everything. Small changes like mirror play can give new life to familiar experiences.”

Mirror play, as Brightwell calls it, helps add visuals and really engage your mind in new ways. “When you introduce a mirror, you’re not just seeing your partner, but are watching yourselves together,” she says. “That visual feedback creates a loop of arousal. You see your partner’s pleasure, which turns you on more, which they see reflected back, and so on.”

How To Set Up Mirror Play In The Bedroom

A full-length mirror is ideal for mirror play so that you’re able to position it in a way you can see both partners’ faces and bodies, Brightwell explains. You don’t even have to hang it — just find a good spot to prop it against a wall or furniture. If you’ll be on a bed, the best locations to place a mirror are usually to the side or at the foot of the mattress.

Here are Brightwell’s tips for making the most of your mirror play:

• Try this positioning: Start with the receiving partner on all fours, but instead of looking down or straight ahead, encourage them to look up or over at the mirror. The giving partner can also adjust their stance to get a better view of both faces in the reflection.
• Make eye contact. This is where the magic happens, Brightwell says. “When you catch each other’s eyes in the mirror, hold that gaze. It creates an intimacy that [a position like] doggy style doesn’t usually offer. You’re physically connected from behind but emotionally connected face-to-face.”
• Experiment with height. Sometimes placing a pillow under the receiving partner's hips or having them rest on their forearms rather than their hands can completely change the mirror angle, opening up new views.
• Talk to each other about what you’re seeing. Tell your partner what about them is turning you on right now, and what you like seeing that maybe you normally can’t.

Aside from bringing some novelty to your average weeknight of intimacy, mirror play can also bring back some of those butterflies from the very beginning of your relationship, Brightwell says. It brings back that sense of newness and mutual vulnerability (but trusting each other anyways). “The couples I speak with who try this usually say it brings back feelings from their early days together — that mix of excitement and nervousness, that heightened awareness of each other. Sometimes the simplest additions create the most profound shifts in intimacy.”

The best part of this trick is that you don’t have to try anything crazy, spend a bunch of money, or even change anything about your normal night of sex. You’re just adding a little something extra to what’s already working well for you.