‘Take two orgasms and call me in the morning’

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/02/2015 (4211 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“NOT tonight dear. I have a headache.”

It turns out the old cliché could be harmful to our health.

According to research, sex can actually alleviate headaches and other maladies, according to scientists who have studied the correlation between sex and health. Experts say the positive effects of safe sex can be attributed to a complex cocktail of hormones released during the deed that do everything from calm stress to boost immunity.

Even though you probably don’t need an excuse to get romantic this Valentine’s Day, here is a reminder of some studies that suggest the sex-health connection:

 

Sex is a workout

It turns out that sex counts as moderate exercise. In a Montreal study published in a 2013 edition of the journal PLOS One, 21 young, healthy participants wore arm sensor bands while exercising on a treadmill for 40 minutes. The exercise acted as the control data. The same participants were instructed to wear the arm bands before the start of sexual activity. (Sexual activity was defined as foreplay, intercourse and at least one of the partners’ orgasm.) The researchers found the people they studied burned an average of 85 calories during sex, or 3.6 calories in a minute. The researchers concluded that sex, “at times,” is moderate exercise.

 

Immunity booster

Scientists at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania say sex can boost your immunity — specifically, raise your levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA), an antibody that can prevent the cold and flu. The Wilkes researchers asked more than 100 undergrads how many times they had had sex in the previous month. They also measured the amounts of IgA in the subjects’ saliva. The results? Those who had sex once or twice weekly had 30 per cent more IgA in their saliva than their counterparts who did the deed less than once a week.

 

Cuddling can prevent infection

Carnegie Mellon University researchers intentionally exposed 404 people to the common cold and monitored them in quarantine for signs of the illness. Before the exposure to the virus, they were asked in interviews and questionnaires over 14 days about their interpersonal conflicts and how often they received hugs.

The results showed perceived social support lessened their risk of infection. Among the participants who came down with a cold, their symptoms were less severe if they reported receiving more hugs — even if they had more interpersonal conflict in their lives. The results were published in the journal Psychological Science.

 

Lessen headaches

Using your headache as an excuse not to have sex? According to a 2001 issue of Headache, sex can actually be a headache cure. The journal contains the results of a survey that questioned women about whether they ever had sex while experiencing a migraine headache. Of the 57 who had engaged in sex with a migraine, 30 per cent reported some relief from their headaches after sex. Meanwhile another 17.5 per cent ended up completely pain-free. Only 5.3 per cent of respondents noticed worsening headache symptoms after sex.

 

Reduce prostate cancer?

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggested that men who ejaculated 21 or more times in a month had a lower risk of prostate cancer than those who reported ejaculating four to seven times in a month. The study was based on a questionnaires answered by more than 29,000 men.

 

Have an interesting story idea you’d like Shamona to write about? Contact her at shamona.harnett@freepress.mb.ca.