Sex up your health
From work to weight loss, passion has the answer
WANT to give your career a boost? Try having more sex. Workers who get intimate the night before heading into the office are better at their jobs, an Oregon State University study revealed this week.
Sexpert Dr Lori Beth Bisbey says: “There is lots of evidence that having a good sex life gives people more energy and means they have lower stress, making it easier to concentrate.
“Good sex lowers stress and good sex means good relationships which also means less attention and energy spent worrying about the relationship and less distraction at work.
“Also when you are sexually satisfied you have lower levels of frustration – so you have more energy to put towards work.”
And becoming a fantastic employee is just the start when it comes to the benefits we can get from jumping between the sheets.
Dr Lori says: “I would say it’s essential to have a good sex life – lower stress, improved immunity, lower blood pressure, greater self-confidence and self-esteem, improved sleep and pain relief are just a few of the reasons why.
“And of course people with good sex lives are happier – and happiness provides loads of health benefits.”
Here’s why making love really is good for your health...
NO MORE HEADACHES
It is the famous reason we give when we don’t fancy doing the deed but having sex can actually help ease painful headaches. Making love causes a surge in “love” hormone oxytocin and other feel-good endorphins.
This can also help to reduce the symptoms of arthritis and many women find period pains ease when they climax, thanks to the contractions relieving tension in muscles of the uterus.
SLEEP BETTER
Sex could be a cure for insomnia according to the Berman Center for Women’s Sexual Health in the US. Our bodies change chemically after making love. Oestrogen levels rise in women, encouraging a better night’s sleep. The male anatomy releases prolactin, which causes fatigue.
PREVENT DISEASE
One in eight British men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. A Harvard study found a daily orgasm could reduce the risk. Research at Queen’s University Belfast found having sex three times a week could halve the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
In Australia, scientists found people who climaxed at least three times a week had a 50% lower chance of dying from any illness than those who only climaxed once a month.
LOSE WEIGHT
Sex is a great fat burner and a 30-minute session can shed up to 150 calories. Moderately active sex twice a week can help burn an extra 5,000 calories a year.
Varying positions can help tone up muscle groups – try the scissors pose to work your hip flexors. Or trim your glutes in the missionary position.
FIGHT FLU
Having sex once or twice a week has been linked with boosting immunity to colds and flu. One study found higher levels of immunoglobulin A– a substance found in saliva that is thought to help fight off bugs – in those who made love more often.
SMOOTH WRINKLES
Oestrogen is pumped out when women have sex and this can have a plumping effect on the skin, smoothing out fine lines. This can be particularly effective after the menopause, when levels of the hormone drop. One US study found menopausal women who have sex every week had oestrogen levels twice as high as those who abstained.
BOOST YOUR BRAIN
Scientists in Italy found people who have regular sex, especially those in new relationships, showed an improvement in cranial nerve growth, which is crucial to mental alertness. This was backed up by a Princeton University study, where researchers divided rats into two groups and found those who mated more often experienced greater nerve growth.
LESS INCONTINENCE
It is a problem that affects nearly a quarter of us as we get older – and women can benefit from sex. Making love is a great workout for pelvic floor muscles, which control orgasms and urine flow. Pelvic floor exercises can have the same effect – but are less fun.
RELIEVE STRESS
Workers might perform better after a night of sex because of its positive impact on stress levels. A study in Psychology Journal found people who were intimate in the previous 24 hours coped better with stressful scenarios. Touching and cuddling during and after making love reduces the levels of cortisol, the hormone people secrete when stressed.
FEEL HAPPY
Like any cardio workout, sex releases feel-good chemicals that boost your levels of serotonin, the happy hormone. One US study found sexually active women in long-term relationships were less likely to feel depressed than those who went without.
GET THE GLOW
We often say people who had sex the night before are “glowing” – and it is not our imaginations. Making love pumps more oxygen around the body, increasing the flow of blood and nutrients to the skin. This gives us the lovely glow.