How Sex benefits our Health
Sex and sexuality are a part of life. Aside from reproduction, sex can be about intimacy and pleasure. Sexual activity, penile-vaginal intercourse (PVI), or masturbation, can offer many surprising benefits to all facets of your life
Improved Heart Health — like any physical activity, healthy sex is good for your heart.A study published in January 2015 in the American Journal of Cardiology found that men who had sex twice weekly or more had less risk of cardiovascular diseases, like stroke or heart attack, than those who had sex once a month or less.
Relieves Stress - Stress can cause all kinds of health problems, from headaches, insomnia, muscle tension, and upset stomach, to more severe conditions including a weakened immune system and chronic depression. A study published in Biological Psychology found that people who have regular sex had lower stress-related blood pressure than individuals who had masturbated or had non-coital sex.
Improves Sleep - Around 16 million adults in the UK suffer from some kind of sleep disorder. However this could be improved by having regular sex. This is because during sex and orgasms, a cocktail of chemicals are released in the brain including oxytocin, dopamine, and a rush of endorphin. All these hormones combined leaves you feeling sleepy.
During sex, women also have a rise in estrogen levels, which has been shown to enhance their REM cycle. In men the prefrontal cortex – the area of the brain which helps with alertness and mental activity- “switches off” after orgasm which helps them sleep.
Improves Immunity - Participating in sex one to two times per week helps boost the immune system, according to research published in Psychological Reports. They found that people who had sex once or twice per week had a 30 percent increase in IgA (an antibody that shows how tough our immune system is) compared to those who don’t.
However, Clifford Lowell from the University of California-San Francisco, also said that people who are sexually active are exposed to more infectious agents than individuals who are not sexually active. Luckily the immune system responds to these infectious agents by producing more IgA, which could help protect against colds and flu.
Improves Sleep - You may nod off more quickly after sex, and for good reason.“After orgasm, the hormone prolactin is released, which is responsible for the feelings of relaxation and sleepiness" after sex, says Sheenie Ambardar, MD. She is a psychiatrist in West Hollywood, Calif.
