Sex is the new health potion. It’s good for you, keeps you young and only gets better the more you tango. Kinsey Institute sex researcher and educator Debby Herbenick, Ph.D., extols the benefits of sex and delivers the equally good news that its rewards don’t necessarily require a partner…
Most of us already know that life is sweetened by sex. But healthier? Yes! In fact, study after study reports that people who are sexually active get sick less often, heal faster, are more alluring and simply happier. And once you’re in the groove, sex begets more sex. The momentum takes on a life of its own. Last night’s delight makes you want more. After all, your body wakes up to its arousal, and in a loving relationship, you and your partner feel closer than ever.
The best news of all, for singles anyway, is that no partner’s required to reap the benefits of sex. “The health benefits can be the result of partner sex or masturbation,” Herbenick says. “All that matters is that a person feels good about it.”
Painless Perks
Why the magic? When we have sex, alone or with a partner, our bodies release increasing levels of oxytocin. Nicknamed “the bonding hormone,” oxytocin helps put the body and mind at ease. And it’s partly responsible for the feel-good effects of sex, including more pleasure and less pain. “Sexual excitement and orgasm, for both women and men, increase their threshold for pain,” Herbenick says. “They’re both less sensitive to pain and less likely to experience it.”
In fact, Rutgers University sex researcher Beverly Whipple, Ph.D., has found that during orgasm a woman can tolerate up to 110% more pain than she can normally – a good thing, says Herbenick, because increased pain tolerance protects our bodies during sex and ensures that pleasure is the main event. The downside: some women may notice soreness or even mild tearing from an energetic romp once the pleasurable buzz has faded.
But getting physical may be beside the point. Just thinking about sex can be pain relieving, too: In 1999, when researchers at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Wisconsin asked participants to submerge their hands in ice-cold water, they found that participants who were told to think of kissing, flirting or otherwise enjoyable sexual activity with a partner experienced less pain and distress than participants who thought of a neutral situation.
Sexual activity can also lighten the pain of migraine headaches, chronic back pain and even offer relief from PMS symptoms, such as cramps. Saturday night never sounded so good.
The Sexy Side of Beauty
Sex also increases a person’s attractiveness quotient. A study out of Royal Edinburgh Hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland, found that participants thought people who had sex four times a week were 7 to 12 years younger than people having less sex.
“Research shows that more sex releases higher levels of oxytocin,” Herbenick says. “And we know that’s good for decreasing stress. So, it makes sense that if you’re less stressed, you’ll look better.” And blood pumping through the body at a post-coital clip brightens our blush, not a bad elixir for dewy skin and rosy cheeks.
Feeling attractive may also link up with how much sex you have. A 2005 study by Penn State sex researcher Patricia Barthalow Koch, Ph.D., found that women who perceived themselves as less attractive now than they were 10 years ago had less sex and less enjoyable sex than women who still felt attractive.
The Flush of Sexy Exercise
Clearly the mind affects sex. But the seat of sex is physical: the pelvic floor, or sexual function central. That structure, running like a hammock from the pubic bone to the spine, not only gives a woman control over urinary and bowel functions, but also contributes to arousal and the ability to have an orgasm. In fact, it supports all of a woman’s sexual anatomy.
Regular sex can help a woman maintain her pelvic floor, important for her health as she ages. “Sexual activity helps keep the tissues moist,” Herbenick says. “And it prevents the vaginal canal from narrowing, which is important for [access during] gynecological exams. So, even if a woman is no longer interested in sex with a partner or a partner isn’t available, masturbation is important.”
Like working any kind of muscle, working your pelvic floor muscles brings them to life. Vaginal tone and sexual response improves. Arousal builds because of better blood flow, which drives genital sensation and lubrication during sex.
Orgasm ability and quality also improve dramatically, since stronger pelvic floor muscles are primed to contract more powerfully. In addition to regular Kegel exercises – the hold and release of the same muscles you use to keep from urinating – sexual activity is nature’s best way to keep the pelvic floor healthy.
Regular sexual activity also benefits men, reducing their risk of prostate cancer. “We don’t really know why ejaculation is related to a lower risk of prostate cancer, but it is,” Herbenick says. One theory is that with regular ejaculation other toxins or substances in the prostate are picked up by the semen and taken out of the body.” And once again, the benefits occur whether a man is regularly ejaculating during masturbation or partner sex.
The Happiness Factor
Along with the physical boon, sex lifts our spirits. In fact, people who have more sex are happier in their relationships and in general. Of course, much of the well-being conferred by regular sex comes compliments of oxytocin, says Herbenick.
“Both men and women release high levels of oxytocin during sexual activity and orgasm. And they release higher levels from vaginal intercourse [than from] masturbation or oral sex,” she says. In other words, the benefits of solo sex are terrific, but sex with a partner may be the most potent medicine.
The well-being oxytocin makes the hormone seem something of a wonder drug, helping us feel more relaxed and less stressed. It’s also associated with faster wound healing, and a reduction in blood pressure and cortisol, a stress hormone. What’s encouraging – in case your sex life’s slow – is that you can get at least some of the physical and mental benefits of oxytocin even without sex.
“The benefits are not dependent on having an orgasm,” Herbenick says. “It can be just the result of warm touching and massage.” In fact, animal research shows the hormone promotes closeness and even feelings of exclusivity among pairs who mate. And although men and women may be mating in captivity, says Herbenick, we’re more like animals than we know.
The gist is that if you’re on the fence about steaming up your love life, you can add good health, happiness and self-reliance to your list of pros. And as the old Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young song goes, ”If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with” – yourself. Whatever your choice, your body and mind will thank you.
Test Your Sexual Health IQ
So, you know about birds, bees and that Tab A goes into Slot B. But there's so much more to know about getting it on, especially when it comes to your sexual health. Find out what you may have missed in Sex Ed class with this sexual health quiz.
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