When it comes to sex, gay and straight women alike tend to not realize the perks of intercourse extend well beyond the bedroom. Whatever your sexual orientation, sex feels good and is healthy too. Wondering just how sex can rev up your health? Read on to know more about the great benefits of sex for women, and why bedroom boredom can signal a world full of health problems.
Health Benefits of Sex For Women
Table of Contents
#1 Help in Boosting the Immunity System
Sexual activity means fewer sick days. According to experts at WebMD, women who engage in sex regularly have higher immunity levels. So defend your body against intruders like germs, pathogens, and viruses. Research conducted at Pennsylvania Wilkes University found that senior college students who had sex once or twice a week had higher levels of antibodies for fending off diseases and infections as against students who had less sexual intercourse.
Apart from a healthy sexual life, you need to eat right, sleep well and stay active do. But engaging in intercourse certainly helps in staying healthy.
#2 Increases the Libido
A healthy sex drive is associated with physiological and psychological benefits. Having sex improves the libidinal drives and offers better lubrication of inner organs, blood flow and vaginal elasticity for women. Women who have a healthy sex life also derive mental health benefits from it, through an enhanced sex life.
#3 Improve Bladder Control
Develop a strong pelvic floor and avoid incontinence affecting close to 30 percent of women, bu engaging in a healthy sex life. Good sexual activity is wonderful for working out the pelvic floor muscles. Whenever one has an orgasm, it can cause contractions in pelvic muscles and strengthen these.
#4 Bring Down Blood Pressure
Stress and sex have a correlation too, with research suggesting more hypertension from less sex. Many studies have found that sexual intercourse and not masturbation alone was directly responsible for lowering systolic BP. Blood pressure tests turn positive because you find an outlet for your emotions and reduce stress through the sexual act.
#5 Sex is Exercise
Sexual activity is also a wonderful form of exercise. Of course, it won’t replace the treadmill, your daily cardio or gym routine. But it does burn calories, of around 5 per minute, which is 4 calories more than watching television. Use sex to rev up the heart rate and strengthen various muscles of the body. Get busy and clear the schedule to make time for intercourse on a regular basis. Like exercise, consistency helps in maximizing the benefits.
#6 Prevent Heart Attacks
A healthy sex life is also good for the heart. Apart from being a wonderful way to raise heart rate, sexual activity helps to keep hormone levels in balance, such as testosterone and estrogen. When either of these is low, a lot of problems arise such as heart disease and osteoporosis. Avert heart disease and cardiovascular problems by choosing sex as a means of improving heart health.
#7 Reduce Pain
Before reaching for aspirins, try sex. Orgasms serve to block pain according to research by the Rutgers State University of New Jersey. This releases the hormone that raises the threshold of pain. Orgasm less stimulation can also block chronic pain, as well as leg pain and many women, use genital self-stimulation to reduce arthritic pain, menstrual cramps, and even headaches.
#8 Ward off Cancer
Cancer of the prostate can be more easily averted with sexual activity, according to the Journal of AMA. Sexual intercourse, masturbation, and emissions can lubricate the inner extremities and stimulate blood flow, boosting immunity and warding off cervical cancer in women.
#9 Enhance Sleep
Nodding off is easier after sexual acts. Post the orgasm, a hormone called prolactin is released which induces feelings of sleepiness and relaxation. Fend off stress and anxiety and stimulate feel food endorphins that fire up the brain’s pleasure and reward systems and create a sense of comfort.
#10 Raise Self Esteem
Sexual intimacy can also boost happiness and self-esteem. The psychological benefits of a partner and support system are manifold.
#11 Become Trimmer
Whether you don’t have time in a day for a workout, or you simply can’t be bothered to go to the gym, consider that sex burns anywhere from 75 to 150 calories in 30 minutes, according to sex medical experts. This works out to be equivalent to many other forms of exercise like yoga, dancing or even walking. The sexual activity also helps in maintaining lean muscles. Testosterone levels are regulated to build and maintain lean muscle tissue and bone.
#12 Improve Mental health
The best way to boost the mood beat anxiety and fight depression is to be active sexually. Building intimacy reduces the stress hormone cortisol’s levels. This reduces the chance of acidity in the abs, hyperglycemia and rising blood pressure.
#13 Get Healthier Skin
Along with this, sex can also release a compound that boosts the radiance of your complexion. During the sexual act, the body produces a hormone called Dehydroepiandrosterone which boosts the immune system, providing healthier skin and even boost the mood.
#14 Feel better
Sex also reduces stress levels because hormones like endorphin and oxytocin are released, causing a surge of hormones that can make for an amazing mood state.
#15 Fewer Incidences of Cold
Getting well is easy if you have a healthy sexual life. This is because intercourse releases an antibody called immunoglobulin A which combats diseases and keeps women safe from flu and colds.
#16 Less Menstruation Trouble
When the woman undergoes the big O, the uterus contracts and this can rid the body of compounds that cause cramps. Increased number of uterine contractions can also lead to the quick expulsion of tissue and blood, helping the periods to end faster. Sex also reduces the risk for endometriosis where the uterine tissue grows out of the uterus. causing pain and trouble in regular functioning, according to Yale research.
#17 Release of Healing Neurotransmitters
The neurotransmitter that triggers during healthy sexual activities in men and women both is acetylcholine. With less ACH, there can be a problem in managing daily sexual functioning. Specifically, sex causes positive neurotransmitters and hormones to release. So whether you’re gay or straight, get this straight – sex can be beneficial for your health. Stay sexy and stay healthy!
Mental Benefits of Sex
While most people have heard about the physical health benefits of engaging in intercourse, there’s an equally long list of psychological benefits. Apart from physical well being, and boosting the immunity system, lowering blood pressure and burning calories, sex impacts psychological well-being, too.
Ease Stress
It is a well-established fact that being stressed out can have a lot of negative repercussions. Stress is the consequence of interacting psychological issues and can differ depending on the people. It causes women to suffer from headaches, sleeping issues and difficulties, muscle tension and severe issues such as malfunctioning of the immune system and chronic depression.
Evidence indicates that closeness with a partner, both physically plus emotionally, can lower stress levels. Physical intimacy triggers different chemicals in the brain including endorphins, dopamine, and oxytocin. Dopamine plays a vital role in reward-motivated behaviors, focusing attention and increasing motivation. It also impacts the body’s natural stress and pain fighters or endorphins. Another powerful hormone released is oxytocin, which is referred to as the cuddle hormone, triggering feelings of compassion.
Once the orgasm is over, the body also releases prolactin, This spurs drowsiness and a generally relaxed feeling and induces sleep. Research has actually found engaging in intercourse for a complete fortnight decreased anxiety and triggered cell growth in the hippocampus or the emotional center in animal studies. Evidence also suggests lower stress-linked blood pressure through frequent intercourse.
Boost Self Esteem
Sex is a very crucial part of psychological self-identity and confidence. There is evidence that lack of sexual relations is associated with feelings of depression and low self-esteem. Society exerts a lot of social pressure to be sexually successful. Having a minimal or zero sex life can even be a social stigma. Sex can reduce the trauma that comes from social isolation and enhances self-esteem. Everyone has certain psychological needs to remain mentally strong and healthy. This is an important part of love and connectedness.
Eminent psychologist Abraham Maslow indicated 5 basic needs for humans. One of these was love or connection. If psychological needs like these are not met, mental health is negatively impacted. Certain studies indicate that social isolation can even trigger early death.
Increased Psychological Intimacy
Whatever the reason, couples without an active sex life may experience a lack of psychological intimacy and drive the partners apart. While it may sound obvious, sex regularly with your marital partner can make a big difference to how you get along with them. Being intimate on a frequent basis allows emotional connectedness at a deeper level.
Boost Cognitive Capacities
Having sexual relations changes the chemistry of the brain in different ways and actually boosts cognitive capacity. One study found that past sexual history related thoughts enhance cognitive functioning. Another study found sexually active subjects had more neurons in their hippocampus, in animal studies. Brainpower increments were lost once sexual activity stopped.
Research on the female orgasm has found that brain activity post sexual climax activates each part of the human brain. Blood flows carry a lot of oxygen and nutrients to the brain cells. Popular activities for brain stimulation like Sudoku or crossword puzzles, on the other hand, have only marginal increments and cause only some regions of the human brain to be stimulated.
Research also supports a positive link between frequent sexual activity and recall for words in women.
Look and Feel Younger
Sex can make you feel and look younger. In a society where a lot of stress is placed on beauty and youth, people over 25 want to look or feel younger. Billions of dollars are invested in discovering the fountain of youth. Another study found regular sex makes men and women between 5-7 years younger looking. This brings renewed confidence, happiness, and enthusiasm. When one looks younger, one feels younger.
Sexual relations are also associated with longevity and continued good health. Both psychological and physical benefits of sex are tapped. In an average sex session, men burn close to 100 calories, and women, around 70. Exercise boosts physical health and has mental health benefits too, from improving the mood to reducing and coping with stress, boosting self-satisfaction, improving energy levels and much more.
Sexual activities are also linked to emotional well being and the quality of life. Whether you’re constantly feeling under the weather or sadder than usual, sexual intercourse can improve your mood, too.
Combat Pain
A study in Biology-Psychology found frequent and regular intercourse was associated with lower diastolic BP. Additionally, orgasms trigger the release of endorphins which release a sensation of wellbeing and act as important painkillers.
During intercourse, high levels of blood reach the body and take the pressure away from the brain. Most individuals feel relaxed post an orgasm and having an active sex life could make you healthier.
Additionally, boosting self-esteem is another reason why people engage in sex, according to research by the University of Texas. Feeling disconnected from a marital partner can trigger regular mental health issues. Sexually active women are less likely to be depressed, according to a Gallup poll of nearly 300 women.
Sex can boost mental health through the release of feel-good neurotransmitters like serotonin. Sex enhances emotional attachment and facilitates intimacy in relationships. Sex can impact every aspect of mental health from self-esteem to a sense of confidence.
Sex also serves to release endorphins and boosts the ability of the brain to solve complex cognitive problems at the same time. In other words, sex wards off pain and makes you smarter! It also impacts the ability to recall and how sharp your memory is.
Conclusion
Thus, sexual relations with your partner are a way to a fitter and healthier you, whether you consider the physical health benefits or the psychological impact. Sex has the ability to strengthen your self-esteem, and self-confidence besides paving the way for deeper intimacy with your partner. It is a cornerstone of a committed relationship. So whether you’re friends with benefits or partners for life, sexual intercourse can definitely boost your body and mind health.