Basic HTML Version
JUNE 2012 -
SEXY X2
MAGAZINE -
77
drop that pound in 21 hour-long
sessions.
“Sex is a great mode of exercise,”
says Patti Britton, PhD, a Los Ange-
les 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 Heart
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 associ-
ated with stroke in the 914 men
they followed for 20 years.
And the heart health benefits of
sex don’t end there. The research-
ers 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 hus-
bands and partners ending with
hugs. They found that the more
contact, the higher the oxytocin
levels.
“Oxytocin allows us to feel the
urge to nurture and to bond,” Brit-
ton 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 Medi-
cine, 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 can-
cer 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 Jour-
nal of the American Medical Asso-
ciation, found that frequent ejacula-
tions, 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 Bet-
ter
The oxytocin released during or-
gasm also promotes sleep, accord-
ing to research.
And getting enough sleep has
been linked with a host of other
good things, such as maintain-
ing a healthy weight and blood
pressure. Something to think about,
especially if you’ve been wonder-
ing why your guy can be active
one minute and snoring the next.
S