Moist, wet, firm, squeeze, lick, touch.
Now if those six words began revving up the more risque side of your thoughts, then congrats, you’ve come to the right place.
Sex is something you should indeed be thinking more about, and with good reason. Apart from the physical good feels we mostly chase sex for, there are actually quite a number of serious ways that sex impacts our health and well being.
Sex to Destress
Stress, that clingy friend no one really wants around, but always finds a way to be there. Sadly it’s just not something we humans can seem to escape, but luckily we have a very natural remedy to help alleviate it: sex.
When we’re stressed our bodies produce a hormone called cortisol as part of their natural stress response system. Cortisol has many functions in our bodies such as regulating our blood pressure and blood sugar levels. According to Mayo Clinic in their article Chronic stress puts your health at risk, prolonged exposure to cortisol due to long periods of stress can actually end up disrupting many of your body’s processes and can lead to things such as:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Digestive problems
- Headaches
- Muscle tension and pain
- Heart disease, heart attack, high blood pressure and stroke
- Sleep problems
- Weight gain
- Memory and concentration impairment
If you’ve been stressing a lot lately, and find yourself experiencing some of these symptoms, having some ‘adult fun’ might be what the doctors prescribe. Engaging in sex encourages the release of the ‘happy hormones’. Henry Ford Health makes it really easy to understand just why intimacy and these ‘happy hormones’ are so effective at dealing with stress when they are released.
- Oxytocin: Best known for its role in bonding and attachment.
- Serotonin: Plays a key role in staving off anxiety and depression.
- Dopamine: Results in feelings of well-being. It spikes when we experience something pleasurable.
- Endorphins: These powerful hormones act as natural pain killers, minimizing discomfort and maximizing pleasure.
Yes, it may not be the first thing you’d think about when you’re annoyed, down, or angry because of stress, but remember, it might just be exactly what your body needs.
Don’t Sleep on Sex
My my, your sexual partner hit all the spots tonight, you have no idea what happened, but you do know that you feel amazing, and the work both of you just put in has you barely capable of staying awake. In comes some of the best sleep you’ve had all week thanks to tonight!
Especially after orgasms, our bodies produce high amounts of a hormone called Prolactin. This hormone, coupled with the other ‘happy hormones’ that come with having sex, are very strong sleep inducers and they explain why sex and sleep seem to always follow each other.
It appears that the more legitimate reasons we can have to induce sleep are growing more important by the day. According to Single Care, approximately 2 billion adults across the globe suffer from sleep deprivation. For women who suffer with low libido or simply wish it to be higher than it might be, this may be some helpful news.
“A study of nearly 10,000 women ages 50 to 79 found that those who got fewer than seven to eight hours of sleep a night were less likely to be sexually active. The older the woman, the more likely she was to report less sex when sleep-deprived.” says Sandy LaMotte. In addition, in the study, The impact of sleep on female sexual response and behavior: a pilot study, it was found that, “Women’s libido, or desire to have sex, increased by 14% for every additional hour of sleep they got.” A lack of sleep has also shown to also have adverse effects on your regular menstrual cycle and ovulation processes.
On the other hand, lack of sleep can lead to erectile dysfunction and infertility in men. Testosterone in men is used up during their waking hours and predominantly replenished during periods of sleep. Your sex induced sleep allows your body time to restock its testosterone which men need to maintain a healthy, “…sex drive (libido), bone mass, fat distribution, muscle mass and strength, and the production of red blood cells and sperm.” says Understanding How Testosterone Affects Men, but it can also aid in combating the ever feared erectile dysfunction.
Less Pain, More Pleasure.
It’s also been seen that sex helps quite a lot with alleviating some forms of common pain.
Headache and migraine victims rejoice! If you’re having your usual head pains, but you also have a consenting partner, there’s a good chance your suffering will be short lived.
In the study case The impact of sexual activity on idiopathic headaches, it was found that 60.2% of their migraine patients reported moderate to complete relief. “Some patients even indicated the complete relief of pain was similar to that observed with drug treatment.”
The study further discusses that even though sex by nature acts as a pretty good distraction from these pains, there are more scientific reasons that explain why it happens: Remember the ‘happy hormone’ endorphins, we talked about earlier? As this hormone is encouraged to flood your system during sex, your pain receptors are blocked and any pain you feel will be less. The study also shares that, “…postorgasmic relaxation, and extragenital reactions like blood pressure can cause pain relief…”
Be warned though! 33% of participants did report the condition worsening. So ‘do the nasty’ at your own risk!
All in all, with all the fun a good time can bring, there are reasonably positive health benefits to keep in mind as well. Sex for your fun; Sex for your health.
