Why sex is better for your brain than Sudoku

THe best non- food sources of nourishment for your brain are good sleep, regular exercise . . . and great sex.

However, according to the statistics, we seem to be having less of it — on average we have sex fewer than five times a month, compared to six-and-a-half times 20 years ago, according to the national Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles.

Yet numerous studies have linked regular sexual activity to emotional well-being, reduced migraine pain and even a lower risk of prostate cancer.

As a form of exercise, an enthusiastic session between the sheets is roughly equivalent to 20 minutes of doubles tennis or walking uphill, 33 minutes of golf on a driving range, 40 minutes of yoga or 19 minutes of light rowing.

In fact, the British Heart Foundation suggests 30 minutes of sex daily is as good for you as walking the dog.

And research is now showing that sex provides a ‘triple-whammy’ of benefits by combining a workout for the heart and lungs, the release of hormones that could lower stress and the production of new brain cells.

Then — for women — there’s the added plus of a toning effect on the muscles in the pelvic floor.

Certainly, orgasm triggers increased blood flow around the body, which keeps the tissues and organs healthy, giving the brain an extra boost of oxygen and nutrients. Although younger couples might get a real exercise hit from active sex, generally speaking few of us would engage in this kind of sex regularly enough to glean aerobic benefits.

However, in today’s fast-paced world, it may be that the calming, soothing effect and feeling of connection that occurs between two loving people during sex is better for your brain than almost anything else.

My fascination has been in the fact that recent research has shown that having an orgasm could actually be better for your brain than playing Sudoku — which has been previously shown to have huge benefits for keeping brains active.

SCIenTISTS have looked at what happens in the brain when people reach orgasm during sex, and found that sex lights up the whole brain in a way that word puzzles and number challenges simply cannot.

Yes, Sudoku uses memory, logic, pattern detection, planning and consequential thinking ( all activated in an area called the prefrontal cortex).

But the impact is isolated to those areas. The increased blood flow — and therefore nutrient supply — just doesn’t have the same mental punch and intensity as sex.

Although Sudoku stimulates specific areas related to logic and reasoning, they are not as interconnected in the brain as the regions that are stimulated during sex, meaning that the increased blood flow doesn’t occur in the same intensity.

During orgasm, numerous centres of the brain get a massive surge of stimulation (boosting blood supply and therefore nutrients to the area).

These are the areas of the brain that govern and regulate emotions and control the release of ‘ happy’ hormones, which increase feelings of trust, love and bonding.

Areas of the brain that integrate sensory perceptions (think skin, eyes, sound and taste) also light up to help make the experience pleasurable and memorable and to leave a desire for more.

In addition, the hormone oxytocin, which is released in the brain during sex, has a natural anxiety- dampening effect and induces feelings of safety, stability, empathy, psychological warmth, altruism, openness and trust, as well as relaxation.

Some researchers even believe it improves psychological stability.

Interestingly, large amounts of this hormone are found in couples during their first six months of romantic attachment, which may be due to the brain producing larger quantities during initial sexual engagement or because we are biologically programmed to settle down and start reproducing.

The intensity of all of this is exquisitely turned up to help make the experience pleasurable and memorable and, of course, leave a desire to want to repeat the process.

Combine all this with the release of the brain chemical dopamine, which provides the fireworks of intense pleasure, and serotonin which leads to feelings of safety and serenity, and you have the most perfect wholebrain experience.

Although the Sudoku/ sex research focused on the female sex response, there is nothing to say that there is not a positive brain effect for men’s brains during orgasms, too.

And it is clear that being in a fulfilling, happy and satisfying relationship is very good for your brain because enjoyable and relaxing companionship releases brain chemicals and hormones that keep the brain young.

ADAPTED by LOUISE ATKINSON from Feed Your Brain: 7 Steps to A Lighter, Brighter You! by delia McCabe, (exisle publishing, £16.99). to order a copy for £11.89 (30 per cent discount), visit mailbookshop.co.uk or call 0844 571 0640. p&p free on orders over £15. Offer valid until November 11.