Today’s focus on sensuality and the good life looks at the science behind 32 health benefits of sex with a trusted partner. 

Naysayers, please read on, because science is on my side.

The health benefits of sex is not a Cosmo tale for “silly blondes”, but rather a rich landscape of high-priority, vital information for maximum health and aging. Let’s get started because this is one pill I want you to swallow often. 

32 Health Benefits of Sex

1. Stress reduction

Oxytocin released during orgasm definitely reduces stress, by lowering cortisol levels.  Women stress about money more than men and tend to take To Do lists to bed with them. Sexual intimacy can be a richly-rewarding, free experience. Properly planned and with both parties being “present” and engaged during sex, many more stress-reducing health benefits of sex are outlined in research.

Female orgasms can only be triggered when the amygdala — the brain’s fear and anxiety center—is turned off.  This medical reality is another reason why foreplay is important as part of sexual activity.

2. Immunity boost

Psychologists at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre determined that moderately sexually-active people — having sex once or twice a week —  had higher levels of immunoglobulin lgA. IgA binds to pathogens at all the points of entry to the body, then calls on the immune system to destroy them.

Confirming that too much of a good thing isn’t good for immune systems, the benefits of sexual activity didn’t extend to the most sexually-active people in the study. Also the study doesn’t clarify if the sexual events among the most sexually active participants involved different partners. It’s also possible that the parties had high anxiety levels and used sex for release. Stress and anxiety make lgA go down. 

3. Cardiovascular benefits

A 1997 British study of 918 men from Caerphilly in Wales concluded that men who had intercourse twice a week or more were less likely to have heart attacks and other fatal coronary events. Men who had sex less than once a month had twice the rates of fatal coronary events, compared with those with the most sexual activity. 

Estrogen lowers bad cholesterol, particularly in women. This benefit can be erased as women age, leaving their HDL cholesterol to rise. 

4. Increased circulation and blood flow, including the brain

Finnish scientists recently  followed 1,000 men aged between 55 and 75 for five years, Study participants who had sex less than once a week at the start of the study were twice as likely to develop erectile dysfunction as those who had it at least once a week.

Those who had sex three or more times a week lowered their risk fourfold.

The pulse rate of a sexually excited individual increases from 70 to 150 beats per minute, which is comparable to muscle efforts of a weight-lifter. At the moment of orgasm, blood circulation reaches its maximum surge speed, pulsing through our organs and brain.

Dr. J. Francois Eid, a urologist with Weill Medical College of Cornell University and New York Presbyterian Hospital, observes that erectile dysfunction is extension of vascular system. A lethargic member may be telling you that you have diseased blood vessels elsewhere in your body. “It could be a first sign of hypertension or diabetes or increased cholesterol levels. It’s a red flag that you should see your doctor.” Treatment and exercise, says Dr. Eid, can have things looking up again: “Men who exercise and have a good heart and low heart rate, and who are cardio-fit, have firmer erections. There very definitely is a relationship.” 

5. Pain reduction

Dr. Beverly Whipple, professor emeritus at Rutgers University and a famed sexologist and author, when women masturbated to orgasm “the pain tolerance threshold and pain detection threshold increased significantly by 74.6 percent and 106.7 percent respectively.” 

Orgasm releases endorphins, natural analogues of morphine, which alleviate the pain of everything from headache to arthritis to even migraine. In women, sex also prompts production of estrogen, which can reduce the pain of PMS. 

Reality is that quality sex is the perfect remedy for a headache, not a reason for avoiding it. 

6. Improved sleep

Because oxytocin and the intimacy of positive intimacy reduce stress, we sleep more soundly. 

“There’s no doubt that sex is relaxing and so helps tackle insomnia,” says Dr David Delvin, a GP and specialist in sexual medicine. “Lots of people use sex, whether with a partner or on their own, as a way of getting to sleep. That’s down to the surge in oxytocin during arousal and orgasm, which is a natural sedative.”

This view is backed up by a 2000 US study carried out in 2000, which found that 32 per cent of the 1,866 female respondents who reported masturbating in the previous three months said it helped them sleep.

7. Less sleep, improved longevity

Only a crazy journalist would write that sex is good for you because you sleep a bit less, making time for lovemaking, and that might be good for you. We know that women say they are tired, out of energy and want sleep more than anything in the world.

“I don’t have time for sex” is a common lament of today’s woman.When married women also want to read a book or watch a movie, rather than have sex, the situation is a bit more complicated for their husbands. According to iVillage, a huge number of women feel this way. Perhaps women just want some peace and quiet.

New research on optimal sleep times intersects with another important study, suggesting that optimum sleep for longevity in women may be around 6 hours a night. This isn’t the number women want to hear, and they feel exhausted for many reasons, including lack of exercise, but medical researchers would say that needing to sleep seven hours, rather than make love, may not be the right set of health priorities.

8. Lower blood pressure

In April 2010 Brazilian health minister Jose Temporao announced a new national campaign against high blood pressure. Itemizing the To Do List for the country,  the minister checked off diet, exercise, regular blood-pressure checks — and he also reminded everyone that one way to get a good cardiovascular workout is with more sexytime, adding, “always with protection, obviously.”

In a two-step connection — probably 10 if we add them up — researchers at Indiana University found that simple household chores can lower your blood pressure as much medication. Professor Janet Wallace’s team found that a few hours of “lifestyle physical activity” a day can drop systolic blood pressure by an average of about 13 points.