Having more sex can save your life, according to an expert.
Being in good health is determined by many different things, but one of the key things is by knowing how well your autonomic nervous system is functioning. This has two branches – one powers your get up and go by boosting your heart rate, your respiration and your access to energy. It also slows down maintenance functions such as digestion.
Scientifically, this is known as the sympathetic nervous system (REV), and it makes sure you are ready for any go-time moment. It basically revs you up, and ensures you're always ready for the get-go.
READ MORE:'I'm an escort – people assume it's glamorous but I work harder than they think'
Read all the latest lifestyle news by the team at Daily Star
But, due to the fact it's often quite tight, it can be rather energy depleting and can also cause stress. This is why the other autonomic branch (RESTORE) works to maintain the basic functioning of your restorative systems to help calm it down.
It works to aid the stress response and help recover other physiological resources like glycogen, body fluids and blood flow. But, it also does so much more than this, as it helps with things such as digestion, urination, sexual arousal and heart rate relaxation.
As well as this, it allows our creativity to thrive, as it offers a safe space for your mind to wander off and create. This enables you to find time to de-stress and replenish for the next task ahead, but there are occasions where you can find yourself in a state of autonomic imbalance, which leads to messing with the entire system.
Autonomic imbalance can be determined by issues such as high blood pressure, high fasting glucose, high lipids and elevated resting heart rate. It's also been linked to chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer. When your body is stressed, tired or unfit, it means the heart has to work harder to ensure the blood continues to circulate.
This means the heart rate will increase, and studies have shown that a boost in resting heart rate can lead to premature death. One study revealed that every 10 beats-per-minute increase in resting heart suggests people are more likely to die by 20%.
There are many things you can do to try and aid the problem, but Sara Mednick thinks sex can do a lot of good. Writing for Medium, she said getting saucy can be "a major regulator" in aiding the matter.
She said: "First, during the initial stages of getting turned on, the RESTORE system warms up the body and mind for sex, as any fight or flight–type thoughts or feelings can be a real buzzkill. But while RESTORE is critical for arousal mechanisms like erections and clitoral engorgement, REV takes over as things heat up, increasing heart rate, blood pressure, sweat production and pupil dilation.
"This last sign being a universal signal for 'Come and get it'. REV also handles the swelling of breasts, vaginal walls and testicles, tightens the scrotum and lubricates the tip of the penis. These actions all continue through REV’s final push toward the Big O."
She continued: "The massive RESTORE rebound following all that exertion makes orgasms your gateway drug to deep Downstate bliss. Post-YES! , RESTORE covers your entire body in calm.
"Your thinking brain, which made a big push during the lead-up to the fireworks show, takes five, as it soaks in a warm bath of attachment-facilitating oxytocin and feel-good serotonin. And to all you insomniacs out there, to the anxiety-prone people who spend hours ruminating, to anyone who feels exhausted all the time, whether or not they get good sleep – sex is the answer."
In other words, sex can be super good for you. If you have a super healthy sex life as you enter your 80s and 90s, it will do wonders for your mind.
Studies have even proven that executive function is higher in people who get frisky more often later in life. So, what are you waiting for?
Want all the biggest Lifestyle news straight to your inbox? Sign up for our free Daily Star Hot Topics newsletter
