LIFESTYLE

21 reasons why you should have sex and

the advantages to our health
Forget anti-wrinkle creams, research claims sex can make you look seven years younger and
that's not the only benefit - here's our round up for National Sex Day
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 BY CAROLINE JONES, JO-ANNE ROWNEY

 16:30, 8 JUN 2018UPDATED16:51, 8 JUN 2018

(Image: Getty)

You probably don't need much convincing, but there's quite a few health
benefits to a healthy sex life.

So it might be time to share this with your loved one for National Sex Day
(Saturday, June 9).
 According to the latest studies, regular sex – that’s one to two lovemaking
sessions per week – can provide some incredible boosts to your health and
wellbeing.

There are quite a few benefits to having sex, from boosting fertility to looking
young (yes that's a thing), you even get healthier (sort of).

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Here's a break down of the best reasons to get your loved one between the
sheets.

1. You look younger

Look younger the natural way(Image: Getty)

Dr David Weeks, clinical neuropsychologist at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital,

revealed to a psychology conference that his extensive research had found older
men and women with an active love life looked five to seven years younger than
their actual age.

But you don’t have to be at it every night to enjoy youth-enhancing effects! In

fact, during his 10-year study, Weeks found quality was as important as
 quantity, with the anti-ageing benefits stronger if the sex was classed as
“loving”.

2. Boost your fertility

This will sound like music to most men’s ears – studies have found that the more
often you make love, the better quality your sperm will be.

Semen health was found to be best when sex had last occurred less than two
days before the sperm was tested and was greatly decreased after 10 days of
abstinence.

If you’re trying for a baby, keep sperm fresh and in tip-top shape by having sex
at least twice a week, and not only around the time of the woman’s ovulation.

Frequent sex has also been found to help balance a woman’s hormones and
regulate her periods, which can further boost chances of conceiving.

3. Fight colds and flu

Sneezing(Image: Getty)

Having sex once or twice a week has been found to raise your body’s levels of
an antibody called immunoglobulin A, or IgA, which can protect you from colds
 and flu. One study found people who have sex more than once a week have 30%
higher levels of IgA than those who abstain.

READ MORE
 How to get rid of a cold: Tried and tested remedies for feeling better
4. Disease-proof your body
Having high levels of the natural steroid DHEA, known as “the anti-ageing
hormone”, is believed to be key to keeping your body fitter for longer. During
sex, DHEA is secreted throughout the body, and after an orgasm, the level in the
bloodstream soars to five times its normal amount.

5. Lengthen your life

A study carried out in Australia found people who climaxed at least three times
a week had a 50% lower chance of dying for any medical reason than those who
only climaxed once a month.

6. Shift your middle-age spread and keep fit

Thirty minutes of vigorous sex burns up to 100 calories, which is the same as a
small glass of wine.

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And if you have moderately active sex twice a week, you’ll burn an extra 5,000
calories a year!

Varying your positions is also a great, fun way to tone different muscle groups
and keep limbs lean and flexible.
7. Ease those nasty period cramps

It can help combat period pain(Image: Getty )

Many women say period pain diminishes if they do the deed during a cramp
attack.

One theory why is that muscle contractions that occur when you reach peak
levels of excitement relieve tension in the muscles of your uterus – the ones that
cause menstrual cramps – therefore easing the pain.

8. Helps lower your risk of incontinence

Good sex is a great workout for a woman’s pelvic floor muscles – the muscles
that control orgasms and also stem the flow of urine, reducing leakage and
incontinence.
 Pregnancy and the menopause can weaken these muscles significantly, but the
stronger they are, the lower your risk of developing stress incontinence and
prolapse later.

And let’s face it, sex is far more enjoyable than the chore of doing pelvic floor
exercises on your own!

9. Prevent a heart attack

Man clutches his chest in panic at the onset of a painful heart attack (Image: Getty)

Lots of studies have found that regular sex can ward off heart attacks, not bring
them on as it was once feared.

One study at Queen’s University Belfast found that having sex three times a
week could halve your risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
 Another study in Israel found that women who had two orgasms a week were up
to 30% less likely to have heart disease than those who did not enjoy sex or
didn’t have an orgasm.

10. Increase your attractiveness to others

High sexual activity makes the body release more pheromones, chemicals that
enhance your appeal to the opposite sex.

This is why the more sex you have with your partner, the stronger your desire
will be to have sex with them again.

11. Smooth out your wrinkles

Get rid of your wrinkles(Image: Blend Images)

The hormone oestrogen is pumped out during sex, which can in turn have a
plumping effect on the skin, helping to smooth out those fine lines.

This is especially useful following the menopause, when a woman’s skin can
become drier and more wrinkled, as oestrogen levels naturally drop.

One American study found that menopausal women who had sex every week
had oestrogen levels that were twice as high as their counterparts who abstained.
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12. Give yourself an all-over healthy glow
According to research carried out at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, sex promotes
skin renewal because it is an aerobic form of exercise.

The scientist behind this study found that vigorous sex pumps higher levels of
oxygen around the body, increasing the flow of blood and nutrients to the skin,
and pushes newer, fresher skin cells to the surface, making skin look healthier.

13. Improve your self-esteem

It boosts your confidence(Image: Getty)

One of the most important benefits, noted in a recent survey undertaken by the
University of Texas, US, was that participants who had sex regularly felt more
confident about their bodies.

14. Lower your blood pressure

A Scottish study found men and women who had plenty of sex coped well with
stress and had lower blood pressure than those who abstained. Researchers at
 Brigham Young University in the US also linked frequent intercourse to lower
blood pressure.

READ MORE
 How to lower blood pressure including the best foods and diet tips
15. Banish depression
Like any exercise that raises your heart rate, sex causes your brain to release
feel-good chemicals that boost your levels of serotonin – the happy hormone –
to lift your mood.

Serotonin is the body’s key antidepressant chemical and one of the major
reasons people smile and feel happy and relaxed after sex.

Sexually active women in long-term relationships are also less likely to feel
depressed than women who go without sex, according to a study of nearly 300
women by psychologist Gordon Gallup in the American Archives Of Sexual
Behavior.

16. Cure that headache (yes, really!)

Yes it's a thing(Image: Getty)

 “Having a headache” might be an age-old excuse not to have sex, but the
scientific evidence says that, to the contrary, sex can help shift pain!

This is because making love causes a surge in the “love” hormone oxytocin, plus
other feel-good endorphins, which can ease pain.

Women have reported that their pain from both headaches and arthritis improved
post-coitus.

READ MORE
 How to get rid of your headache or migraine in just TWO minutes using this very
unusual method
17. Slash stress
In a study in the Psychology journal, researchers found that people who’d had
sex in the last 24 hours coped better with stressful scenarios – such as public
speaking – than those who had not.

Research has also shown that touching and cuddling during and after sex
reduces the body’s levels of cortisol – the hormone that is secreted when you’re
stressed.
18. Kick your insomnia into touch

It can help you get some zzzzs(Image: Getty)

The oxytocin released when you orgasm has another benefit – it can help you
drop off, research claims.

Both men and women release this feel-good hormone just before orgasm, and as
it courses through your system, it promotes relaxation and sleepiness.

So there is actually a genuine excuse for him to fall asleep so quickly after sex...

Sleep
19. Strengthen your bones
As regular sex can boost oestrogen levels in post-menopausal women, it can
offer some protection against the bone-thinning condition osteoporosis that is
triggered by a lack of oestrogen.

And men can benefit too, as testosterone levels have been found to increase
during and after sex, which can provide some protection against male
osteoporosis.
20. Cut your risk of prostate cancer
Researchers at Nottingham University have found that men who enjoy a regular
sex life in their 50s are at lower risk of developing prostate cancer.

This is because sex clears the prostate of toxins that could otherwise linger and
trigger cancerous changes.

The link was first suggested after several studies showed that monks appeared to
have a higher chance of developing prostate cancer.

21. Feel better all day

If you decide to go for a spot of morning passion to start your day, the boost to
your mood it provides can continue right through until night-time, according to
research.

The American scientist Dr Debby Herbenick found that adults who made love
first thing in the morning were not only more upbeat for the rest of the day, but
they also benefited from a stronger immune system than those people who
simply opted for a cup of tea and some toast before heading out of the door.

In other words – why wait until tonight?