It looks like having friends with benefits brings more benefits than you think. The connection between health and sex is great news, especially for people who are "sick" of getting shot down with the "I have a headache" excuse. It's bad news for the people who use the excuse. Check out Web MD's Top 10 Reasons To Have Sex Tonight:
1. Sex Relieves Stress
A big health benefit of sex is lower blood pressure and overall
stress reduction, according to researchers from Scotland who reported
their findings in the journal Biological Psychology. They
studied 24 women and 22 men who kept records of their sexual activity.
Then the researchers subjected them to stressful situations -- such as
speaking in public and doing verbal arithmetic -- and noted their blood
pressure response to stress.
Those who had intercourse had better responses to stress than those who engaged in other sexual behaviors or abstained.
Another study published in the same journal found that frequent
intercourse was associated with lower diastolic blood pressure in
cohabiting participants. Yet other research found a link between
partner hugs and lower blood pressure in women.
2. Sex Boosts Immunity
Good sexual health may mean better physical health. Having sex once
or twice a week has been linked with higher levels of an antibody
called immunoglobulin A or IgA, which can protect you from getting
colds and other infections. 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.
Those in the "frequent" group -- once or twice a week -- had higher
levels of IgA than those in the other three groups -- who reported
being abstinent, having sex less than once a week, or having it very
often, three or more times weekly.
3. Sex Burns Calories
Thirty minutes of sex burns 85 calories or more. It may not sound
like much, but it adds up: 42 half-hour sessions will burn 3,570
calories, more than enough to lose a pound. Doubling up, you could drop
that pound in 21 hour-long sessions.
"Sex is a great mode of exercise," says Patti Britton, PhD, a Los
Angeles sexologist and president of the American Association of
Sexuality Educators and Therapists. It takes work, from both a physical
and psychological perspective, to do it well, she says.
4. Sex Improves Cardiovascular Health
While some older folks may worry that the efforts expended during
sex could cause a stroke, that's not so, according to researchers from
England. In a study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, scientists found frequency of sex was not associated with stroke in the 914 men they followed for 20 years.
And the heart health benefits of sex don't end there. The
researchers also found that having sex twice or more a week reduced the
risk of fatal heart attack by half for the men, compared with those who
had sex less than once a month.
5. Sex Boosts Self-Esteem
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.
That finding makes sense to Gina Ogden, PhD, a sex therapist and
marriage and family therapist in Cambridge, Mass., although she finds
that those who already have self-esteem say they sometimes have sex to
feel even better. "One of the reasons people say they have sex is to
feel good about themselves," she tells WebMD. "Great sex begins with
self-esteem, and it raises it. If the sex is loving, connected, and
what you want, it raises it."
6. Sex Improves Intimacy
Having sex and orgasms increases levels of the hormone oxytocin, the
so-called love hormone, which helps us bond and build trust. Researchers from
the University of Pittsburgh and the University of North Carolina evaluated 59 premenopausal women before and after warm contact with their
husbands and partners ending with hugs. Tey found that the more
contact, the higher the oxytocin levels.
"Oxytocin allows us to feel the urge to nurture and to bond," Britton says.
Higher oxytocin has also been linked with a feeling of generosity.
So if you're feeling suddenly more generous toward your partner than
usual, credit the love hormone.
7. Sex Reduces Pain
As the hormone oxytocin surges, endorphins increase, and pain
declines. So if your headache, arthritis pain, or PMS symptoms seem
to improve after sex, you can thank those higher oxytocin levels.
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.
8. Sex Reduces Prostate Cancer Risk
Frequent ejaculations, especially in 20-something men, may reduce
the risk of prostate cancer later in life, Australian researchers
reported in the British Journal of Urology International. When
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 they found men who had five or more ejaculations weekly while
in their 20s reduced their risk of getting prostate cancer later by a
third.
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.
9. Sex Strengthens Pelvic Floor Muscles
For women, doing a few pelvic floor muscle exercises known as
Kegels during sex offers a couple of benefits. You will enjoy more
pleasure, and you'll also strengthen the area and help to minimize the
risk of incontinence later in life.
To do a basic Kegel exercise, tighten the muscles of your pelvic
floor, as if you're trying to stop the flow of urine. Count to three,
then release.
10. Sex Helps You Sleep Better
The oxytocin released during orgasm also promotes sleep, according to research.
And getting enough sleep has been linked with a host of other good
things, such as maintaining a healthy weight and blood pressure.
Something to think about, especially if you've been wondering why your
guy can be active one minute and snoring the next.
