Sexual Health: 10 Feel-Better Reasons to Just Do It

Health experts promote seven servings of fruit and vegetables and 30 minutes of exercise daily to maintain good health. What about sex or masturbation twice a week? “Beyond intimacy, sex is a crucial part of your physical, emotional and psychological health and vitality, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, and whether you are single or with a partner,” says Rebecca Rosenblat, relationship and sexuality therapist, author and host of Sex@11 (www.DrDate.com). An orgasm is a major neurological and physiological event that has far-reaching health benefits. So get turned on. Good sex may help us all live
longer, healthier lives.

1.  IMMUNE SYSTEM BOOSTER
Every time you reach orgasm, it strengthens your body’s defence systems, helping fight illnesses like colds and stomach bugs as well as diseases in general. Sex once or twice a week has been linked to 30 per cent higher levels of the biochemicals immunoglobulin A (IgA) and endorphins, which stimulate the immune system, according to scientists at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. IgA are proteins that act as antibodies that bind to pathogens entering the body; they signal the immune system to destroy them.

2.  PAIN RELIEVER “‘Not tonight, I have a headache’ is counterproductive,” says Rosenblat. “During sex, the hormone oxytocin surges to five times its normal level. Because of this, endorphins [chemicals that bear a functional resemblance to morphine] are released that alleviate pain.” In a study published in the Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine, 48 volunteers who inhaled oxytocin vapor and then had their fingers pricked lowered their pain by more than half.

5. SLEEP ENHANCER The endorphins released during orgasm not only relieve tension but research has shown that sex also helps the body to engage in deeper, more restful sleep. Deep, restful sleep helps you handle day-to-day stress much more efficiently and, according to research, also maintain a healthy weight.

6. ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION BUSTER “During orgasm, the bloodstream is flooded with oxytocin, also a bonding hormone, which helps us mellow out, trust and turn off fear, anxiety and stress, along with having an amnesic effect that lasts up to five hours, keeping our worries at bay,” says Rosenblat. “Sex is 10 times more effective than Valium and has no side effects. Prostaglandin, a hormone found in semen, modulates female hormones and acts as a natural anti-depressant.”

7. CANCER RISK REDUCER Ejaculation is believed by some researchers to reduce prostrate cancer risks by as much as 30 per cent. A National Cancer Institute survey of 30,000 middle-aged men found that those who averaged 21 ejaculations a month showed a 33 per cent lower risk of prostate cancer than those with four to seven ejaculations.

9. INCONTINENCE STOPPER “Regular sex strengthens the pelvic muscles and helps with bladder control, critical in aging individuals,” says Rosenblat. 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. PLEASURE ENHANCER When you share a positive experience with your partner, Rosenblat says your brain comes to associate them with pleasure instead of the things that bug you about them. Small wonder, she adds, increasing your sexual frequency from once a month to once a week registers as the happiness equivalent of a $50K increase in salary.