The Brain in Love: 12 Lessons to Enhance Your Love Life (3 page)

A Swedish study found increased risk of death in men who gave up sexual intercourse earlier in life. The research was done on four hundred elderly men and women. At age seventy they were given a survey of their sexual activity and then followed over time. Five years later the death rates were significantly higher among the men who ceased sexual activity at earlier ages.

A daring group of researchers from Queen’s University in Belfast, Ireland, included in a long-term study of health a question about sexual activity. The authors studied nearly one thousand men between the ages of forty-five to fifty-nine living in or near Caerphilly, Wales, and recorded the frequency of sexual intercourse each week and month. The researchers then divided the men into three groups: high orgasm frequency (those who had sex twice or more a week), an intermediate group, and low orgasm frequency (those who reported having sex less than monthly). The men were monitored again ten years later. Researchers found that the death rate from all causes for the least sexually active men was twice as high as that of the most active group. The death rate in the intermediate group was 1.6 times greater than for the active group.

Many questions come to mind with this type of study, such as “Is it the orgasm that is healing? Or, the touch and physical and emotional connection that comes with intercourse? Does poor health decrease sexual activity? Do other factors such as lack of exercise, alcohol, and depression cause both poor health and less sexual activity?” The researchers found that the robustness of their findings persisted even after adjusting for differences in age, social class, smoking, blood pressure, and evidence of existing coronary heart disease at the initial interview. This suggests a more likely protective role of sexual activity.

The Irish researchers wrote, “The association between frequency of orgasm and mortality in the present study is at least—if not more—convincing on epidemiological and biological grounds than many of the associations reported in other studies and deserves further investigation to the same extent. Intervention programs could also be considered, perhaps based on the exciting, ‘At least five a day’ campaign aimed at increasing fruit and vegetable consumption—although the numerical imperative may have to be adjusted.”

In a 2001 follow-up study, this same research group found that having sex three or more times a week reduced by half the risk in
males of having a heart attack or stroke. If a drug company came up with a medicine that performed as well, their stock would soar through the roof of Wall Street. The coauthor of the study, Shah Ebrahim, PhD, underscored the results by saying, “The relationship found between frequency of sexual intercourse and mortality is of considerable public interest.” There is truth to the saying that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. It may also be true that an orgasm a day keeps the coroner away.

Fewer Sick Days

A study from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality conducted by Dr. Ted McIlvenna looked at the sex lives of ninety thousand American adults. He found that sexually active people take fewer sick leaves and enjoy life more.

Boosted Immunity

According to gynecologist Dr. Dudley Chapman, orgasms boost infection-fighting cells up to 20 percent. Psychologists at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania found that students who had regular sexual activity had a third higher levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA), an antibody that boosts the immune system and can help fight colds and flu.

Healthy Sexual and Reproductive Behavior

Research done by Dr. Winnifred Cutler, a specialist in behavioral endocrinology, indicated that women who have intercourse with a male partner at least once a week are likely to have more regular menstrual cycles than women who are celibate or who have infrequent sex. In same-sex couples, women who engaged in sexual activity at least three times per week also had more regular cycles. In her “White Paper for Planned Parenthood,” Dr. Cutler reported that sexual and reproductive health of both women and men is
influenced by their sexual activity. She reports that regular sex can have positive effects also on reproductive health. Here are several examples:

Fertility
. Frequent sexual activity may enhance fertility. Studies of menstrual cycle variability and frequency of intercourse have demonstrated that regular intimate sexual activity with a partner promotes fertility by regulating menstrual patterns.

Menstrual Cycle Regularity
. A series of studies found that women who engaged in intercourse at least once per week had cycle lengths that were more regular than women who had sex sporadically or who were celibate.

Relief of Menstrual Cramps
. Nine percent of nineteen hundred women stated that they masturbated in the previous three months to relieve menstrual cramps.

Pregnancy
. A review of fifty-nine studies that were written between 1950 and 1996 concluded that sexual activity during pregnancy does not harm the fetus, as long as there are no other risk factors, such as sexually transmitted diseases, involved. In addition, some research has shown that sexual activity throughout pregnancy may serve as a protection against early delivery, especially during the third trimester (between the twenty-ninth and thirty-sixth weeks). Of more than eighteen hundred women, excluding those who could not have sex for medical reasons, preterm delivery was significantly reduced in the women who had intercourse late in their pregnancy.

Healthy Prostate
. The prostate gland is responsible for producing some of the secretions in semen. Sometimes the prostate becomes inflamed and painful (prostatitis). In single men who had prostatitis, more than 30 percent who masturbated more frequently reported marked or moderate improvement of their symptoms. In
addition, there is a suggestion that frequent ejaculation may help prevent chronic nonbacterial infections of the prostate.

Higher Youth Hormone Levels
(DHEA, Estrogen, and Testosterone)          

Dr. Cutler also reported that women who enjoy regular sex had significantly higher levels of estrogen in their blood than women experiencing either infrequent sex or no sex at all. The benefits of estrogen include a healthy cardiovascular system, lower bad cholesterol, higher good cholesterol, increased bone density, and smoother skin. There is also growing evidence that estrogen is beneficial to brain functioning.

Another important hormone that seems to be affected by sexual activity is DHEA. Before orgasm the level of DHEA spikes in the body to several times higher than normal. DHEA is believed to improve brain function, balance the immune system, help maintain and repair tissue, promote healthy skin, and possibly improve cardiovascular health.

Testosterone is increased through regular sexual activity. Testosterone can help strengthen bones and muscles, and is also beneficial to a healthy heart and brain. The risk for Alzheimer’s disease is twice as high for people with lower testosterone levels. Low testosterone levels are also associated with a low libido. From this connection one could infer that if you are not interested in sex, your memory may be in jeopardy as well.

Potential Cancer Prevention

A study conducted by Graham Giles from Australia concluded the more that men between the ages of twenty and fifty ejaculate, the less likely they are to develop prostate cancer. A study published by the
British Journal of Urology International
asserted that men in their twenties can reduce by a third their chance of getting prostate cancer by ejaculating more than five times a week.

Researchers have suggested that sexual expression may lead to a decreased risk of cancer because of the increase in levels of oxytocin and DHEA, which are associated with arousal and orgasm in women and men. A 1989 study found increased frequency of sexual activity was correlated with a reduced incidence of breast cancer among women who had never had a child. The study examined fifty-one French women who were diagnosed with breast cancer less than three months prior to the interview. They were matched with ninety-five controls. A higher risk of breast cancer also correlated with a lack of a sex partner and rare sexual intercourse, defined as less than once a month.

More Restful Sleep

Sexual release can help people go to sleep. Orgasm causes a surge in oxytocin and endorphins that may act as a sedative. One study found that 32 percent of 1,866 U.S. women who reported masturbating in the previous three months did so to help go to sleep. As most women know, men often go to sleep shortly after having sex.

Pain Relief

Studies have shown that orgasms can help treat some types of pain. Research by Beverly Whipple and Barry Komisaruk of Rutgers University found that through regular orgasm women had higher pain thresholds when suffering from conditions ranging from whiplash to arthritis. Immediately before orgasm, levels of the hormone oxytocin surge to five times their normal level. This in turn releases endorphins, which alleviate the pain. In women, sex also promotes the production of estrogen, which can reduce the pain of PMS.

Dr. Whipple’s research identified the female G-spot, the vaginal “on switch” for female arousal, on the front inside wall of the vagina, opposite the clitoris. She showed that gentle pressure to this area raised pain thresholds by 40 percent and that during
orgasm women could tolerate up to 110 percent more pain. In brain-imaging research to understand this finding, Dr. Whipple found that during peak arousal, the pain-killing center deep in the brain is activated. Signals from this part of the brain give orders to the body to release endorphins and corticosteroids. These chemicals help to temporarily numb the pain from many different causes. Activating this region also has a calming effect and can reduce anxiety. See Lesson Nine for more details on the G-spot.

Migraine Relief

Research suggests that when your partner says, “Not tonight, honey, I have a headache,” you can help her with a loving roll in the sack. A study from the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine found that having an orgasm could help alleviate the pain from migraines. Among fifty-two migraine sufferers, sixteen reported considerable relief after an orgasm and another eight had their headaches completely gone. Since 2001, a couple of case studies reported that orgasm did help with pain relief. An earlier study of eighty-three women who suffered from migraine headaches showed that orgasm resulted in at least some relief for more than half of them. Using orgasm to help alleviate migraine pain is not as reliable as prescription medications, but it does work much faster, is cheaper, has fewer side effects, and is more fun.

Depression Treatment

Orgasms can also have an antidepressant effect. Orgasms cause intense increased activity in the deep limbic parts of the brain, which settle down after sex. Antidepressants tend to calm activity in the limbic parts of the brain as well. People who engaged in regular sexual activity experienced less depression; orgasm frequency may be one reason why. When a man has an orgasm, an area in the limbic system, called the meso-diencephalic junction, is activated. Cells in the region are known to produce some of the pleasure
chemicals discussed earlier. At the same time, researchers have shown that the amygdala, a fear center in the brain, becomes less active in men’s brains during sex. The region is also involved in vigilance, so animals and people may need to shut down that part of the brain to avoid getting distracted during sex. Calming the fear center might also help with a man’s sense of commitment. Prostaglandins, fatty acids found in semen, are absorbed by the vagina and may have a role in modulating female hormones and moods. In one study it was reported that women who perform oral sex on their mates are less likely to suffer from preeclampsia, a condition that causes a dangerous spike in women’s blood pressure during pregnancy. Plus, sperm carries TGF beta, a molecule that can boost the activities of her natural killer cells, which attack the rogue cells that give rise to tumors.

A man’s orgasm can even be beneficial to women, according to research that indicates that semen can reduce depression in women. Gordon Gallup, a psychologist at the State University of New York, headed a study that found women whose male partners did not use condoms were less subject to depression than those whose partners did. One theory put forth was that prostaglandin, a hormone found in semen, may be absorbed in the female genital tract, thus modulating female hormones.

Other research has indicated that high sexual activity is associated with lower risk and incidence of depression and suicide. A Canadian study that examined the correlation between sexuality and mental health found that celibacy was correlated with high scores on depression and suicidality indexes.

Look Younger

Regular orgasms can even help you look younger. According to research done by David Weeks, a clinical neuropsychologist at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, making love three times a week in a stress-free relationship can make you look ten years younger. Dr. Weeks studied more than 3,500 men and women between the
ages of 18 and 102. He concluded that genetics were only 25 percent responsible for how young we look—the rest is due to behavior. In his study, a panel of judges viewed the participants through a one-way mirror and then guessed the age of each subject. A group of men and women were labeled “superyoung” whose ages were underestimated by seven to twelve years. Among these “super-young” people, one of the strongest correlates of youthful appearance was an active sex life. They reported having sex at least three times per week, in comparison with the control group’s average of twice a week. The “superyoung” were also found to be more comfortable and confident regarding their sexual identity. Dr. Weeks, whose findings are published in
Superyoung: The Proven Way to Stay Young Forever
(Hodder and Stoughton), says this is partly because sexual activity in women helps to trigger the production of a human growth hormone that helps them maintain their youthful looks. Sexual activity also pumps oxygen around the body, boosting the circulation and the flow of nutrients to the skin. Moreover, being in a sexual relationship can in itself be a good incentive to look after your appearance and stay in shape.