Sex is Health Exercise

Functions of sex beyond reproduction

burns calories to produce health benefits.

relieves stress,

lowers blood pressure

boosts the immune system with higher levels of immunoglobulin A,

improves cardiovascular health,

increases self-esteem,

improves intimacy,

reduces pain by production of the hormone oxytocin,

reduces the risk of prostate cancer,

strengthens pelvic muscles, 

promotes good sleep. 

improves the sense of smell and urinary bladder control.

 

§ According to researchers from Scotland who reported their findings in the journal Biological Psychology, a significant health benefit of sex is lower blood pressure and overall stress reduction.^[26]

They studied 24 women and 22 men who kept records of their sexual activity. The researchers subjected the men and women to stressful situations, such as speaking in public and doing verbal arithmetic, and noted their blood pressure response to stress.^[26] The men and women who had intercourse responded more positively to stress "than those who engaged in other sexual behaviors or abstained".^[26]

Researchers found that another study published in the same journal documented frequent intercourse as being associated with lower diastolic blood pressure in cohabiting participants, though other research "found a link between partner hugs and lower blood pressure in women".^[26]

 

§ People who have a "good and healthy sex life" may improve their body's immune system.^[26] Those who engage in sex once or twice a week have been linked with higher levels of an antibody called immunoglobulin A or IgA, which can protect the body from getting colds and other infections.^[26] "Scientists at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., took samples of saliva, which contain IgA, from 112 college students who reported the frequency of sex they had."^[26] The college students in the "frequent" group had higher levels of IgA than those in the other three groups consisting of people who were celibate, had sex less than once a week, or had it "very often" (three or more times weekly).^[26]

 

§ Thirty minutes of sex burns 85 calories or more.^[26] While not seemingly a significant amount, 42 half-hour sessions will burn 3,570 calories, which is sufficient enough to lose a pound. A person can drop the pound in 21 hour-long sessions.^[26] "Sex is a great mode of exercise," notes a Los Angeles sexologist and president of the American Association of Sexuality Educators and Therapists.^[26] "It takes work, from both a physical and psychological perspective, to do it well."^[26]

 

§ "Boosting self-esteem was one of 237 reasons people have sex, collected by University of Texas researchers and published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior."^[26] In response to the findings, one researcher adds that those who already have self-esteem say they sometimes have sex to "feel even better".^[26] People have sex to feel good about themselves.^[26]

 

§ Sexual intimacy, as well as orgasms, increases levels of the hormone oxytocin, also known as "the love hormone" which helps people bond and build trust.^[26] Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill "eval!uated 59 premenopausal women before and after warm contact with their husbands and partners ending with hugs. They found that the more contact, the higher the oxytocin levels".^[26] Oxytocin allows people to feel the urge to nurture and to bond.^[26] Generosity has also been credited and linked to a higher level of oxytocin.^[26] In addition, as the hormone oxytocin surges, endorphins increase, and pain declines.^[26] "In a study published in the Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine, 48 volunteers who inhaled oxytocin vapor and then had their fingers pricked lowered their pain threshold by more than half."^[26] The oxytocin released during orgasm also promotes sleep, according to research.^[26]

 

§ Men who have frequent ejaculations, especially men in their 20s, may reduce their risks of prostate cancer later in life. Australian researchers reported in the British Journal of Urology International that they followed men diagnosed with prostate cancer and those without. They found no association of prostate cancer with the number of sexual partners as the men reached their 30s, 40s, and 50s, but men who had five or more ejaculations weekly while in their 20s reduced their risk of getting prostate cancer later by a third.^[26] Another study, reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, "found that frequent ejaculations, 21 or more a month, were linked to lower prostate cancer risk in older men, as well, compared with less frequent ejaculations of four to seven monthly".^[26]

 

§ During sex, pelvic floor muscle exercises known as Kegels offer benefits for women.^[26] More sexual pleasure is expected to result, strengthening of the area, and help to minimize the risk of incontinence later in life.^[26]

 

§ In contrast to its benefits, sexual behavior can be a disease vector. Safe sex is a relevant harm reduction philosophy.^[28] In addition, pregnancy is noted for its significant risks.

 

 

 

Édouard-Henri Avril