More than mental ...

May 2, 2007 13:46 GMT  ·  By

Sex is more than a hormonal discharge and momentary pleasure. Increasingly more researches point the health benefit brought by sex. And it's not about mental and emotional health, whose balance is obviously tuned by sex. The lack of sex is known to induce from anxiety to paranoia and depression...

A 10 year research made on 1,000 middle-aged men at Queens University in Belfast, Ireland, revealed that sex on a regular basis is not just healthy, but increases our lifespan. Men of similar age and health with the highest orgasm frequency displayed half of the death rate of men who did not have such frequent orgasms. Researchers believe this is due to the stress drop induced by sex.

But sex also boosts our body's senses, at least the smell. After the orgasm, a rise of the hormone prolactin occurs inside your body. This chemical makes the brain's stem cells to grow new neurons in the olfactory bulb, where smell is formed, increasing a person's olfactory abilities.

Sex is also a pain reliever: immediately before orgasm, levels of the hormone oxytocin increase by five times, triggering the release of endorphins. These chemicals alleviate pain, from a minor headache to arthritis or migraines. So, a woman's headache is rather a good reason for sex, not against it.

Other researches point the role of sex as exercise for the heart, provoking at the same time weight loss. A sex session can waste about 200 calories, as much as running 15 minutes on a treadmill.

Sex improves blood circulation, beneficial especially for the brain, due to increased heart rate and deep breathing. Sexual activity decreases the risk of getting cold and flu. Those who have 1-2 intercourses weekly present 30 % greater amounts of the antibody immunoglobulin A, an immune system's booster.

It is known that after orgasm, especially in the evening, we get sleepy. In fact, this is one of the positive health benefits of sex: it improves sleep. After an orgasm, the body, in the case of either male or female, gets completely relaxed. The body gets tired after sex, so you sleep more deeply and restfully after a good sex party.