Top Healthy Benefits Of Sex

In exploring just how sex affects the mind and body, the list of potential benefits appears to be endless.


Aside from reproduction, pleasure, and intimacy, sex seems to have a positive impact on many areas in our lives, including work, physical and cognitive performance, marriage, and happiness into our senior years.

Sex may also have a positive effect on certain organs and conditions, as well as a preventive effect on some diseases.

Maintaining a healthy sex life at home might boost job satisfaction and engagement at work.
Sex may also play a fundamental role in preserving a happy marriage. Partners are suggested to experience a sexual "afterglow" that lasts for up to 48 hours following sexual intercourse. This afterglow is associated with higher levels of long-term relationship satisfaction.

The major advantage of sex is as follows:

1) Improves immunity

Participating in sex one to two times per week appears to be the optimum frequency to boost the immune system, according to study published in Psychological Reports.

Scientists can test how tough our immune systems are by measuring levels of an antibody called immunoglobulin A (IgA) in saliva and mucosal linings.

Clifford Lowell, an immunologist at the University of California-San Francisco, says that people who are sexually active are exposed to more infectious agents than individuals who are not sexually active.

The immune system responds to these infectious agents by producing more IgA, which may protect against colds and flu.

2) Good for the heart

Physical activities that exercise the heart are good for your health, and this includes sex. Being sexually aroused increases heart rate, with the number of beats per minute peaking during orgasm.

Men, in particular, have been shown to benefit from the effect of sex on the heart. A study published in the American Journal of Cardiology, involving men in their 50s, suggested that men who have sex at least twice per week have a 45 percent reduced risk of heart disease, compared with men who have sex less frequently.

The American Heart Association say that heart disease should not affect your sex life. Heart attacks or chest pain caused by heart disease rarely happen during sex and, for the most part, it is safe to have sex if your heart disease has stabilized.

The heart's response to sex is comparable with mild to moderate effort encountered in daily activities, according to research published in the European Heart Journal.

If you can take part in activities that have a similar impact on the heart - such as walking up two flights of stairs - without chest pain, then you can usually assume that it is safe to have sex.

More research is currently needed to draw connections between specific cardiovascular conditions and sex, particularly for women and older adults.

3) Lowers blood pressure

Research conducted by Michigan State University and published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior found that sex in later years might reduce the risk of high blood pressure - at least for women.

Women in the study aged between 57 and 85 years who found sex pleasurable or satisfying were less likely to have hypertension.

However, male study participants who had sex once per week or more were twice as likely to experience heart problems than men who were sexually inactive.

In another study published in Behavioral Medicine, researchers found that the act of hugging can help a person to maintain a healthy blood pressure.

According to the American Heart Association, high blood pressure increases the risk of heart attack and stroke and can also affect your sex life. High blood pressure has an impact on blood flow throughout the body and can prevent enough blood flowing to the pelvis.

In men, high blood pressure can lead to erectile dysfunction and in women, high blood pressure can lower libido and reduce interest in sex.

It is considered safe to have sex if you have high blood pressure. However, if you are concerned or are having problems in the bedroom, seek advice from your doctor.

4) Relieves pain

A headache may often be used as a reason to avoid sex. However, before you reach for the painkillers, neurologists have found that sexual activity can relieve head pain associated with a migraine or cluster headache in some people.

The research was conducted by the University of Munster in Germany and published in Cephalalgia. In individuals with a migraine, 60 percent of people reported an improvement in pain after sexual activity, while 37 percent of people with a cluster headache reported an improvement.

The University of Munster researchers explain that sex triggering the release of endorphins is the mechanism behind the pain relief. Endorphins are the body's natural painkillers and are released through the central nervous system, which can reduce or eliminate pain the experienced with a headache.

In other research published in Pain, women were found to experience reduced pain sensitivity and had an increased pain tolerance threshold when experiencing pleasure through vaginal self-stimulation.

5) Reduces the risk of prostate cancer

Men who frequently ejaculate could be protected against prostate cancer, the most common cancer among men in the world.

National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD discovered that men who ejaculated 21 times per month or more were a third less likely to develop prostate cancer than men who ejaculated between four and seven times per month.

The first theory is that frequent ejaculation may allow the prostate gland to clear out carcinogens, and materials that may orchestrate the development of carcinogens.

Another theory suggests that regular drainage of prostate fluid stops crystalloid microcalcifications - which are associated with prostate cancer - from developing in the prostate duct.

Men who have more than 12 ejaculations per month may also benefit, although the researchers note that at this point, the research would not warrant recommending men to change their sexual behavior.

6) Improves sleep

Do you have trouble getting to sleep at night? Sexual activity could be just what the doctor ordered.

Insufficient sleep is a public health problem, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Most people around the world have a sleep disorder.

Sex could be the answer to help you achieve the recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night.

During sex and orgasm, a cocktail of chemicals are released in the brain, which includes oxytocin, dopamine, and a rush of endorphins.

Oxytocin, also known as the "cuddle hormone," facilitates closeness and bonding, and it surges during sex and orgasm in both men and women.

After orgasm, it is thought that the effect of oxytocin, combined with the release of the hormone prolactin (which is linked to the feeling of satiety and relaxation), makes you feel sleepy.

In women, a rise in estrogen levels during sex has been shown to enhance their REM cycle, according to a study published in the Journal of Women's Health.

In men, the prefrontal cortex - the area of the brain associated with alertness, consciousness, and mental activity - "switches off" after orgasm.

According to a study published in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, this process is connected with the release of oxytocin and serotonin, both of which have sleep-inducing effects. CONTINUE READING