The most pleasant way to keep healthy

Could sex save your life?
Dan Roberts, The Independent, 1 July 2008
Translation: Inopressa

Can sex save your life?

Making love, you not only improve your mood. Sex burns calories, strengthens the immune system and may even reduce the risk of cancer.

Increasing self–esteem is one of the 237 reasons why people have sex, said a study by the University of Texas last year (the findings are published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior). Julia Cole, who wrote the book "How to Enjoy Great Sex for the Rest of Your Life," is not surprised. She is convinced that a healthy sex life and having a loving partner can work wonders with your self-esteem. "After sex, the body produces endorphins, which are called "hormones of joy" because they improve mood," she explains. – From a purely physical point of view, sex is similar to active physical exercise or swimming. But if you have sex with a loved one, you feel his care, and it increases self-esteem."

An unsuccessful sexual experience, of course, will negatively affect your state of mind. But good sex improves the attitude to one's own body, relieves feelings of anxiety, a tendency to mental illness, depression and suicide. In 2004, a study was conducted with men representing four different cultures. According to his results, it was possible to establish that sexual satisfaction is directly related to the frequency of sexual contacts, and the more often a person has sex, the less prone he is to depression.

During orgasm, the body produces oxytocin, a hormone associated with various positive mental and physiological effects. The main thing that it gives is to improve sleep. "There is no doubt that sex relaxes and helps to cope with insomnia," explains Dr. David Delvin, a specialist in sexual health. – Many people, in order to fall asleep, use sex with a partner or make do with their own hands. When a person experiences arousal and orgasm, oxytocin is released in the body, which serves as a natural sedative."

This opinion is supported by a study conducted in the USA in 2000. Then scientists found that 32% of women (a total of 1,866 women participated in the survey) who admitted that they had been masturbating in the last three months did it to make it easier to fall asleep.

One of the main health benefits of sex is that it helps to fight stress. In the course of the study, the findings of which were published in the journal Biological Psychology, 24 women and 22 men kept records of their sexual life. Researchers created stressful situations for them – for example, they were forced to speak in public or engage in oral counting. Those who had sex coped with stressful situations better than those who preferred other sexual activity or abstinence altogether.

According to Julia Cole, this is due to the calming effect of someone else's touch. "Many studies have shown that touching naturally calms a person, regardless of whether it is related to sex or not. And, of course, if you are touched by someone you care about, it will double the effect."

It is believed that touching and caressing, in addition to obvious pleasant sensations, cause a biochemical effect, reducing the level of cortisol, a hormone that is released during stress.

If you have sex once or twice a week, it is found that the level of antibodies known as immunoglobulin A or IgA increases in the body – they are able to protect you from colds and other infections. Scientists from the American Wilkes University measured the level of IgA in 112 college students who reported how often they have sex. Students who fell into the category of those who have sex often had a higher level of IgA than those who abstained or had sex less than once a week.

Paula Hall, a sex therapist and psychologist from Relate, also believes that intimate life not only improves overall well-being, but also strengthens the immune system. "All the psychological benefits have an impact on physical health, for example, on the immune system," she explains. – We know that a person with high self-esteem has a better body copes with diseases and infections. Therefore, the healthier we are psychologically and emotionally, the healthier we are physically."

In men, frequent ejaculation can reduce the risk of prostate cancer in subsequent years, according to the work of Australian researchers published by the British Journal of Urology International. After studying men diagnosed with prostate cancer and healthy men, scientists found that those aged 20-30 years had five or more ejaculations a week, reduced the risk of prostate cancer by a third.

"There is strong evidence that men who have masturbated frequently in the past are less likely to develop prostate cancer," Dr. Delvin confirms. "No one knows exactly why this is happening, but it seems like an irrefutable fact."

In addition, scientists believe that regular sexual activity helps women avoid breast cancer. In 1989, 146 French women took part in a study that found that women who do not have a partner and have sex less than once a month have an increased risk of developing breast cancer.

Sex and orgasm are one of the key components of a close, healthy and long–lasting relationship, and many scientists associate them with a longer life. All this is again related to oxytocin. "Oxytocin, which is also called the "attachment hormone", is produced in the body of a woman who has given birth to a child, and is involved in the formation of a connection with him," says Julia Cole."It is also produced in people who are connected with partners in a strong or long–term relationship, as well as during sexual contact. This "bonding effect" is one of the reasons why people continue to have sex for a long time after they lose the ability to procreate."

This is confirmed by the work of scientists from the University of Pittsburgh. They studied changes in the body of 59 premenopausal women before and after contacts with partners that ended in hugs. The study showed that the more similar episodes a woman has, the higher the oxytocin level.

At the same time, studies in which scientists asked experimental couples not to have sex for a long time showed that people's overall relationships deteriorate. This demonstrates that sex is an important means of connecting couples. "Plus another feeling that is more difficult to describe: the feeling that someone finds you attractive, that a partner wants to be with you, to touch you," Cole explains. I often see couples who have a breakdown because they stopped sleeping with each other and one of the partners decided that he had lost his attractiveness."

Sex dulls the feeling of pain caused by a variety of reasons, including lower back pain, pain with migraines and arthritis, premenstrual syndrome. All this is again connected with the mentioned hormones. "Sex increases the level of endorphins, the natural painkillers of our body," confirms Dr. Delvin. "There is evidence that sex relieves chronic pain and PMS."

Oxytocin also helps to reduce pain. During the experiment, the report of which was published by the Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine, 48 volunteers inhaled oxytocin vapors, and then they were injected into their finger. Thanks to oxytocin, their sensitivity to pain decreased by half.

In 2001, two studies were conducted at once on how orgasm affects migraines in men and women – it turned out that it relieves pain. In an earlier study of 83 women suffering from migraines, more than half reported that orgasm reduces pain. And although this form of anesthesia is less reliable and effective than medications, orgasm as an analgesic acts faster.

Sex, like any other physical exercise, burns calories and fat. Thirty minutes of vigorous sex burn at least 85 calories. And let it seem a little, the effect accumulates. After 42 half-hour "sessions" you will lose 3570 calories, that is, you will lose a pound of weight. "Sex burns calories, so it can be compared to moderate physical activity like housework or swimming," says Dr. Delvin. At the same time, making love is much more pleasant.

However, the question arises here: what happened before, the chicken or the egg? People who live a more active sex life tend to exercise more regularly and actively, and exercise improves sexual health. A study conducted in 1990, in which 78 people took part for 9 months, showed that those subjects who started doing aerobics regularly began to have sex more often, achieve great success in bed and achieve a "satisfactory" orgasm.

One of the largest studies on how the relationship between the sexes is related to mortality was conducted from 1979 to 1983 in Caerphilly, South Wales; then the subjects were followed for another 10 years. During this study, the men underwent a medical examination and answered questions about how often they experience an orgasm. After 10 years, it was found that the risk of mortality in men who often have orgasms (two or more times a week) is reduced by 50%. Scientists have also found that even when adjusted for age and other risk factors, frequent intercourse is correlated with a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases and strokes.

"Many studies have raised the question of whether marriage increases life expectancy," adds Paula Hall. "We know that a strong relationship is a good sign of a long life, and healthy sex plays an important role in this."

Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru02.07.2008