Healthy Sex: 5 Health Conditions Sex Can Improve
Sex and sexuality, aside from reproduction, are about pleasure and are part of life. Sex is a form of workout and releases the feel-good factor in the form of the hormone serotonin, which makes us feel excellent and put a smile on our faces. Besides procreation and bedroom fun, sex positively impacts our health, provided you are sexually active.
Primarily, humans engage in sex for fun, oblivious of what benefits it can have beyond just feeling good. No one will justify why they should be sexually active, but there are surprising health conditions that sex can help ease. Perhaps you thought having sex only serves pleasure, but recent studies point to a wide spectrum of health benefits that go beyond that. Sex makes you feel good, lifts your spirits, fills you up with positive energy, gives you radiant skin, and improves your productivity at work. Here below are the effects of sex on human bodies:
Benefits of Healthy Sex for Health Conditions
Cardiovascular Health
You have probably heard that erectile dysfunction in men has something to do with risk factors like heart disease and blood cholesterol. In truth, sex is a form of exercise that lowers the risk of a heart attack, improves heart health, and enhances blood circulation and heart rate. Remember that sex is highly energy consuming, plus all the exertion ensures blood supply to body cells.
A sexually active lifestyle boosts your heart health. People with dormant sex lives are more likely to be diagnosed with cardiovascular issues such as osteoporosis and heart disease.
Stress
Stress inhibits their cognitive ability. Being sexually active means your body gets a good share of the hormone serotonin responsible for the feel-good factor. Studies indicate that people who engage in stress sex are better suited to handle stressful situations.
Moreover, when stressed, your body releases the hormone cortisol, a key driver for anxiety and depression. Having sex helps regulate the abundance of this hormone in the body, which improves your mood and relieves stress by eliminating anxiety.
Some experts have championed sex as a stress relief mechanism that can restore relaxation and avoid worries. Moreover, stress hormones can contribute to the development of hypertension. Several clinical studies have shown that having sex more often can keep stress at bay, and folks who have sex less often are susceptible to stress. Being close, talking, or cuddling with your partner can go a long way in releasing stress. Besides, intimacy and bedroom performance can positively impact your confidence and self-esteem.
Insomnia
Insomnia is characterized by the inability to catch and maintain sleep or have more wakeful episodes at night. The sleeplessness associated with insomnia can be alleviated by being sexually active. Therefore, if you have trouble catching sleep, perhaps the answer you have been waiting for is sex.
The recommended time frame for sleep is 7 to 8 hours per night. But how does sex induce sleep? When you have sex, especially orgasms, the body secretes chemicals like oxytocin and prolactin, a combination that experts believe makes one sleepy. Hence, if you consider some quality sleep, then make love to your partner. Quality sleep makes you wake up energetic and refreshed, ready for the day's activities.
Prostate Cancer
Experts have suggested, among others, that dormant sex lives are one of the leading causes of prostate cancer. Sexually active men are less likely to develop prostate cancer. A targeted study on the causes of prostate cancer found that men who had at least 21 ejaculations per month were less likely to develop prostate cancer. Interestingly, the number was not exclusive to penetrative partner sex as the study generalized both sexual intercourse and masturbation.
A separate study suggested that the more you engage in sexual activities, the more likely you will have more sex drive or libido. Having satisfactory sex only serves to boost your sex drive. Regular sex is particularly beneficial for women because it enhances vaginal lubrication, elasticity, and blood flow, which are key to improving libido.
Fitness
Some folks pay for lifetime memberships at spas and gyms with fitness goals in mind, but it turns out active sex life can help maintain overall body fitness. Eating healthy and regular exercise is essential for fitness, but so is regular sex. Leading an active sex life can help put your waistline in check by melting down fats and burning calories. Sex can also wind back the clock, make you look younger, and give you youthful, radiant skin.
Sex is a great form of exercise. On average, sex burns about five calories per minute. In contrast, sitting down idly while watching TV burns down a calorie per minute. Just like going to the gym to get your body in shape, sex can come into the picture for the same purpose. As a handy alternative, schedule sex regularly to enjoy its benefits in improving the health mentioned above conditions.