HOW SEX CAN HELP YOU TURN BACK THE CLOCK

IS BEING intimate with your partner related to your cell ageing? There may be good news for the more frisky among us.

In one of our recent studies, we asked married couples if they had been physically intimate during the previous week. Those who answered yes tended to have longer telomeres — a finding which applied to both women and men.

It’s a discovery that could not be explained away by the quality of the relationship or other factors relating to health.

This is just one study that needs to be replicated, but it is consistent with other findings: research shows that sexual activity is good for health. Many think that in long-term relationships, sex really does bring a spring to your step.

And you’re never too old to reignite the spark. Indeed, sexual activity declines less in older couples than stereotypes would have us believe.

Around half of married 30 to 40-year-olds and 35 per cent of 60 to 70-year-olds engage in sexual activity anywhere between weekly and a few times a month.

Many couples remain sexually active well into their 80s.

A happy marriage, too, is vital for ageing well. Put someone from a satisfying marriage into a difficult situation, and they are more likely to cope better with stress.

Happily married people also have a lower risk of early mortality.

In a study of the genes of some 20,000 people, married people or people living with a partner tended to have longer telomeres.