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Want to stay in shape? Make love instead of going to the gym
Sunday, 27 Sep 2020 07:23 AM MYT
There is at least one alternative to the regular aerobic exercise that health authorities so heartily recommend. — Istock pic via ETX Studio
SEPT 27 — If you never seem to find time for the gym, don’t feel guilty. Making love offers an alternative to treadmills, which many people find much more enjoyable. And that it is not all, it is also good for your health in other ways.
The health crisis and the ensuing lockdown have encouraged many people to start exercising. This in itself is excellent news. However, some of us just can’t seem to get excited about jogging around the park or in gyms. So the question is: what can you do as an alternative to the regular aerobic exercise that health authorities so heartily recommend? And the answer? An often overlooked activity that can easily be practiced at home, which not only boosts your pulse rate, but also offers a host of other health benefits. As you may have guessed, it is making love.
Hanky-panky is good for the heart
Research has shown that regular sexual activity helps protect against cardiovascular disease. A 2010 study published in the American Journal of Cardiology notably found that men who have frequent sexual intercourse are 45% less likely to develop heart disease when compared to their peers who only have sex once a month or less often. Some 1,000 men were surveyed by the study, which is not an enormous sample and one that obviously excludes women, but this finding is nonetheless significant.
In 2018, the French Cardiology Federation (FFC) added weight to this conclusion. To quote the FFC spokesman Professor François Carré, “sexual intercourse involves a moderate physical effort that is comparable to climbing 20 steps at a rapid pace. And like all physical activity, it helps develop the myocardium, that is to say the cardiac muscle, and also eliminates toxins from the body.”
Sex can alleviate pain
The well-worn cliché that a headache is a good reason not to have sex is in all likelihood misleading. Researchers have found that sex can have a beneficial effect on certain types of pain including headache and backache. This is due to a flood of hormones released during orgasm, notably serotonin, dopamine, endorphins, oxytocin, and vasopressin, which have a significant impact on sensations of pain.
Although it is not usual to treat pain with sex, that does not mean that it might not be beneficial. In a 2013 survey of migraine sufferers, researchers from the University of Münster found that two out of three patients who had attempted sex during a migraine attack reported that it relieved symptoms, while one out of three said it had made them feel worse.
And let’s not forget that hormones released during orgasm also play a positive role in reducing stress and preventing depression.
Are orgasms more effective than Botox?
The icing on the cake is that regular sex may be as good as a makeover. Forget botox and anti-wrinkle creams, the battle against age can be fought between the sheets. This was the conclusion reached by Scottish neuropsychologist David Weeks of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. A study of 3,500 men and women that he conducted over a period of ten years found that participants who had sex three times a week looked an average of seven years younger than those who made love less frequently. — ETX Studio
Want to stay in shape? Make love instead of going to the gym
Sunday, 27 Sep 2020 07:23 AM MYT
SEPT 27 — If you never seem to find time for the gym, don’t feel guilty. Making love offers an alternative to treadmills, which many people find much more enjoyable. And that it is not all, it is also good for your health in other ways.
The health crisis and the ensuing lockdown have encouraged many people to start exercising. This in itself is excellent news. However, some of us just can’t seem to get excited about jogging around the park or in gyms. So the question is: what can you do as an alternative to the regular aerobic exercise that health authorities so heartily recommend? And the answer? An often overlooked activity that can easily be practiced at home, which not only boosts your pulse rate, but also offers a host of other health benefits. As you may have guessed, it is making love.
Hanky-panky is good for the heart
Research has shown that regular sexual activity helps protect against cardiovascular disease. A 2010 study published in the American Journal of Cardiology notably found that men who have frequent sexual intercourse are 45% less likely to develop heart disease when compared to their peers who only have sex once a month or less often. Some 1,000 men were surveyed by the study, which is not an enormous sample and one that obviously excludes women, but this finding is nonetheless significant.
In 2018, the French Cardiology Federation (FFC) added weight to this conclusion. To quote the FFC spokesman Professor François Carré, “sexual intercourse involves a moderate physical effort that is comparable to climbing 20 steps at a rapid pace. And like all physical activity, it helps develop the myocardium, that is to say the cardiac muscle, and also eliminates toxins from the body.”
Sex can alleviate pain
The well-worn cliché that a headache is a good reason not to have sex is in all likelihood misleading. Researchers have found that sex can have a beneficial effect on certain types of pain including headache and backache. This is due to a flood of hormones released during orgasm, notably serotonin, dopamine, endorphins, oxytocin, and vasopressin, which have a significant impact on sensations of pain.
Although it is not usual to treat pain with sex, that does not mean that it might not be beneficial. In a 2013 survey of migraine sufferers, researchers from the University of Münster found that two out of three patients who had attempted sex during a migraine attack reported that it relieved symptoms, while one out of three said it had made them feel worse.
And let’s not forget that hormones released during orgasm also play a positive role in reducing stress and preventing depression.
Are orgasms more effective than Botox?
The icing on the cake is that regular sex may be as good as a makeover. Forget botox and anti-wrinkle creams, the battle against age can be fought between the sheets. This was the conclusion reached by Scottish neuropsychologist David Weeks of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. A study of 3,500 men and women that he conducted over a period of ten years found that participants who had sex three times a week looked an average of seven years younger than those who made love less frequently. — ETX Studio
