Sure, sex is enjoyable – but did you know it’s also good for you?
Sure, some fun between the sheets is probably not as beneficial as a gym session (unless you’re doing some really strenuous stuff!), but getting that heart rate up is always a good thing, right? Having sex is thought to burn approximately five calories per minute because it not only increases the heart rate, it utilises a number of different muscles.
Sex can help boost self-esteem and distract you from the pressures of everyday life, which is good for your mental health. Orgasm has also been linked to better mental health by some health professionals. A joint research team from New York University and Cornell University have reported that, “Typically, sociosexually unrestricted individuals (i.e., those highly oriented toward casual sex) reported lower distress and higher thriving following casual sex, suggesting that high sociosexuality may both buffer against any potentially harmful consequences of casual sex and allow access to its potential benefits.”
The act of sex can help work and strengthen your pelvic floor muscles through orgasm. These muscles play an important role in helping women avoid incontinence.
As well as raising your heart rate, sex can help balance your estrogen and testosterone levels. An imbalance in these hormones can lead to serious problems such as heart disease, osteoporosis and diabetes.
Some research has also suggested links between sex and lowering blood pressure. For example, a study by the New England Research Institute suggested that men who have sex twice or more a week are 65 per cent less likely to develop cardiovascular disease than men who have sex an average of less than once a month.