Is Sex Beneficial to Health?

A lot of societies consider it a taboo topic, not to be touched upon in public. Is sex beneficial to Health? Regular sex is a very important part of your life. While the main purpose of sex is to enable reproduction, it is also about pleasure and being intimate with someone. Whether its intercourse involving a penis and a vagina, masturbation. Or any other sexual activity among consenting adults. Sexual activity has a lot of benefits on your life in various ways.

Intellectual.
Social.
Emotional.
Physical.
Psychological.

Sexual health means much than just safer sex and staying away from unwanted STDs and ill-timed pregnancies. Recognition of its importance and accepting it as a part of life is also very important.

What are the Effects of Sex on Your Body?

Many studies suggest that sex is a really great form of cardiovascular exercise, especially in younger people. It can be considered light exercise at best.

Some health benefits of sex

Calories are burned.
Blood pressure is lowered.
Muscles are strengthened.
Chances of a stroke and other heart diseases decrease.
Heart health, in general, becomes better.
Higher libido.

Also, people who have regular sex tend to follow a healthier lifestyle to stay fit. This includes some form of exercise and healthier eating habits.

Sex Guide

Sex Helps You Sleep Better

When you have sex, your body releases many hormones and endorphins. One of those hormones is oxytocin, popularly called the “love hormone”. A combination of all these hormones often works as a mild sedative. When you sleep better, you automatically get.

More lifespan.
Better rest.
An energetic start to the day.
A healthier immune system.

A Healthier Immune System

Sex also directly helps in boosting your immune system, making it stronger and healthier. Studies have shown that people who had sex frequently (once or twice a week) had a higher amount of an antibody called immunoglobulin A in their saliva, while the ones who didn’t have sex frequently had less.

If you are wondering what Immunoglobulin A is, it’s one of your body’s various lines of defense and helps prevent all kinds of illnesses. It doesn’t mean having more sex will increase your immunity further. People who had more frequent sex ended up having the same amount of the antibody as the ones who did not have sex as frequently.

How Does Sex Affect Each Gender?

Women

When women get an orgasm, the blood flow in their bodies increases, and a lot of chemicals that relieve pain are released.

Other effects of regular sexual activity

Lessening of the cramps during and before menstrual cycles.
Greater control of their bladder.
Strengthening of the muscles in the pelvis.
Higher fertility.
Better lubrication of the vagina.
Decreased chances of developing endometriosis.

Sex can aid in strengthening the floor of your pelvis. When a pelvic floor gets stronger, you start feeling less pain when having sex. Women who have had their menopause but continue to be active are at a lesser risk of developing vaginal atrophy, a condition in which the thickness of the walls decreases.

Men

So, men who have frequent sex have a lesser chance of getting prostate cancer. This chance decreases with frequent masturbation too, but the dip is higher with sex. For men, some studies (although with small sample size) even showed that ejaculating more frequently increased their mortality rate.

While there are a lot of opposing researches on this one, quite a few researches suggest that frequent sexual activity can increase the quality of your sperm, the health of your sperm, and even their mobility.

What Benefits Does Sex Have On Your Mental Health?

Having sex with your partner can have a lot of significant emotional and psychological benefits. Just like most forms of exercise, sex helps in reducing the levels of stress you feel as well as your anxiety, thereby increasing your happiness.

Having regular sex

Increase the trust you have in the relationship, leading to more intimacy.
An increase your satisfaction with your state of mind.
Increase your ability to shield yourself from unnecessary distress.
An increase your perception of the emotions around you.

A few studies have also found that having regular sex in your old age can aid in having a better memory. These people also feel less lonely and isolated than others, understandably so.

How Does Your Relationship Benefit from Sex?

Once again, oxytocin plays a huge part in making you feel connected to your partner. It has a huge role in not just developing a relationship but also strengthening it. When you see both of you getting sexual pleasure constantly, your bond will improve. You fulfil each other’s desires, you increase the satisfaction in the relationship. There is substantial positive growth.

What are the Benefits of Masturbation?

For all the single folks out there, who cannot get regular sex, masturbation offers a lot of benefits that are similar to sex.

In addition to them, it also offers some more benefits.

Lesser chances of dysfunction during sex.
Higher satisfaction.
Better understanding of your body.
Great sex as a consequence.
More propensity for orgasms.

Contrary to popular legends, masturbation is very safe and has very few risks attached to it, associated with chronic masturbation. In addition to that, since you are alone you do not run the risk of getting an STI or a pregnancy.