Sex & love Don’t give up!
From pain relief to improved fitness, sex has more health benefits than you might realise
Making love isn’t just good for your relationship, it also offers myriad benefits for your mind, body and soul. We asked the experts to explain the many benefits of having good sex.
It makes you look younger
Forget lasers and injectables – good sex is a veritable fountain of youth. From a decade-long study, neuropsychologist Dr David Weeks found that older men and women who engaged in active, regular sex looked between five and seven years younger than those who had sex less often.
The boost in circulation and the body’s release of endorphins and DHEA – the human growth hormone, which makes your skin more elastic – all play a role.
It reduces your stress levels
While you do build up a lot of tension during sex, experts point out that the release is better at calming you down than any drug available. “An orgasm allows you to let go of that tension, and oxytocin is released in the brain,” says sex therapist Dr Tracie O’keefe.
“You’re very calm and ecstatic after good sex. You feel peaceful and relaxed because you’re out of the alarm stage.”
Sex therapist Jacqueline Hellyer adds: “Sex is the most effective tranquilliser in the world. Studies have even shown that people in regular, fulfilling sexual relationships were able to handle stressful situations better.”
It keeps you fit
The key is you’ve got to do more than lie back and think of England. Active sex, where you’re switching positions, will work all your muscle groups, increase oxygenation in your blood and can burn up to 630kj in 30 minutes. “It’s good exercise and it improves your muscle tone,” adds Dr Farah Kroman, a Sydney-based GP with a special interest in women’s health.
It boosts your self-esteem
“If you’re having good sex regularly, it improves the strength of your relationship and makes you feel better about yourself,” Dr O’keefe says.
Jacqueline agrees, adding, “Sex isn’t just about what happens in the bedroom. It’s about the whole day-to-day interaction with your partner. Mechanical sex isn’t going to release the steady drip of happy hormones, but a quality relationship will keep the flow going.”
It improves your blood pressure
The cardiovascular benefits of sex are caused by the increase of your heart rate and blood flow, says Dr Kroman, which helps to keep your blood pressure in check and enhances heart health. What’s more, a Scottish study revealed that committed couples who engage in regular sex also tend
to have lower diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number on your blood pressure reading).
It relieves pain
“Not tonight, I have a headache” isn’t just a poor excuse, it’s scientifically unsound. “You tend to forget about aches and pains when you’re having sex because of the rise in pain-blocking endorphins,” Dr O’keefe says.
A study by the Headache Clinic at Southern Illinois University in the US backs this up: about half of a group of female migraine sufferers reported experiencing relief after orgasm. Another US study found women with arthritis developed a higher pain threshold via regular orgasms.