8 Health Benefits of Sex

Sex is not only a great way to maintain a healthy relationship, but it’s also a fantastic way to maintain a healthy you.

Obviously when the mood strikes, the last thing on your mind are the long-term health benefits,  listed below are some of the health benefits of sex

Improves self-esteem

Having self-esteem is important for not only yourself but for those around you.

How you feel about yourself in the world dictates how you interact with it; and so can be a deciding factor on how you live your life both socially and at work.

Having the kind of sex you want when you want it can make you happier within your own skin. Being with someone who loves you for who you are and gives you what you need, can be a great confidence booster just for you.

Reduces stress

Long-term (chronic) exposure to stress can cause a whole series of actual physical problems to your body.

Raised blood pressure, lowered immune response and an increased susceptibility to anxiety and depression can be caused by increased stress levels. So it is important to keep your stress levels in check.

The actual act of sex and the cuddles after can decrease your blood pressure and make you more able to face some of the problems contributing to your stress.

Sex is also a great communicator and allows both you and your partner to express how you feel about each other.

Burns calories

Thirty minutes of sex burns 85 calories or more. It may not sound like much, but it adds up  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.

Strengthens relationships

Considerable research indicates that being in a positive relationship can improve your overall health and wellbeing. Happily married couples are less likely to develop health complications, such as cancer and heart failure , and so on average live longer.

Your body experiences a whole roller coaster of hormones when you have sex and during the pillow talk after.

The most important hormone is oxytocin, which is appropriately labelled the ‘love hormone’. This particular hormone is important for the need to bond and nurture and is released when you are cuddled and have contact with your partner.

Fights prostate cancer

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

Improves heart health

No matter how much you concentrate on your diet, you’re still at risk of a heart attack if you don’t exercise.

Not adopting enough exercise in your weekly routine is the single worst risk factor for heart problems, yet the majority of adults don’t do enough.

It is already stated that sex is an exercise and the heart above most benefits when we exercise. Even older men who fear that sex can trigger a stroke or cardiac event should not worry as long as you take it slow. Regular sex (2 or 3 times a week) has shown to decrease the risk of a heart attack in older men.

Reduces pain

Having chronic pain (lasting a long time) can create problems with how you live your day-to-day life.

Common problems with long-term pain sufferers include depression, anxiety and sleep disturbances, which are all completely understandable if you feel like there will be no end to your pain.

Your partner can help you get your prescription of natures painkillers. If you suffer from joint pain, headache or premenstrual tension, sex can offer great pain relief.

The hormone oxytocin and endorphins are released and help combat pain by lowering your perception of the pain signals from your problem areas.

Posted by Admin on October 30, 2011. Filed under HEALTH. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry