LaFayette Leathers
M. Tetterton
English 1200-079
Project Three
20, April 2012
How Healthy Is Sex Part Two
Sex which stands for the instinct or attraction to drawing one specific sex to another sex. Sexual intercourse plays a major role in most people’s lives then they may think. On top of playing major roles, sex is very healthy, and should be welcomed to people who are in relationships. There are many reasons as to why sexual intercourse is healthy for the relationship and the body. Some of these reasons consist of: it helps relieve stress, a great source of exercise, boosts immune system, reduces the rate of heart attack and stroke, and more. Sexual intercourse in a relationship is very important to have and I will in detail discuss how.
Everyone has stress in their lives at some point, and there is a great way to reduce it which is only a simple guess away; sexual intercourse relieves stress. Stress is the body’s reaction to change either in a physical, mental or emotional adjustment or response (Morrow 1). Being currently in a relationship, I have had hard times where I would be under a lot of pressure and stress. I have first-hand experienced the stress levels reduced by sexual intercourse. The release of oxytocin evokes feelings of contentment, calmness, and a sense of security focused around your partner, which all together helps to reduce stress (Dasgupta 1). Oxytocin causes the blood vessels in our body’s to relax which invokes the reduction of stress and also sleep. That feeling people get once they are done with sexual intercourse is the oxytocin kicking in.
Each year, approximately 555,000 men and 365,000 women suffer heart attacks (Heart Attack Fact Sheet 2008). Heart attacks at the moment are the leading killers of men and women in the U.S. as of today. Sexual intercourse actually helps to reduce the risk of having a heart attack. People who have sex twice a week are up to forty five percent less likely to have a heart attack and stroke than those who have sex once a month or less, according to several studies (Dasgupta 1). If people are forty five percent likely to reduce the risk of heart attack, then people will be able to spend less money on getting help, and spending it on something they would actually prefer. In 2008 expenditures for coronary heart disease in the U.S. were estimated to exceed $156.4 billion (Heart Attack Fact Sheet 1). Now most people would spend their money on fast food, but that would not be the best idea either, because fast food isn’t good for the body, and does not help to maintain or lose weight.
People never considered that sexual intercourse helps you lose or maintain weight. If sex is vigorous, the pulse rate rises to about 150, which is equivalent to an athlete’s pulse rate at maximum effort (Dasgupta 1). So if sex becomes a regular routine, it is almost like going to the gym daily. A random fact, British researchers determined that the equivalent of six Big Macs can be worked off by having sex three times a week for a year (Childs 1). So on top of eating your favorite meals, you can enjoy a great workout. In essence of sex helping to lose or maintain weight, it also helps to build body muscle. Sexual activities build the muscles of the pelvis, buttocks, thighs, arms, neck and thorax (Dasgupta 1). Even on top of having sex and exercising regularly, people must know that they still need to have a proper diet. Consequently, even if people have sex every day, the McDonald’s, Burger King and every other fast food restaurant will soon catch up to them. So maintaining a great diet and sexual plan is the best way to go. I have been going to the gym, trying to maintain a good diet and have sexually been active; I have maintained the weight I came in this school year with.
The immune system plays a major role in people’s lives every day, and without it everyone on this earth would have perished. Studies shown that lovemaking increases the levels of immunoglobulin A, an antibody that is the body’s first line of defense in fighting bugs that cause diseases and infections (Dasgupta 1). Carl Charnetski and his colleague did an experiment with 111 students. During this experiment they asked kids sixteen to twenty three years old how frequently they have been having sex per week. Through the results given by Charnetski, kids who ranged from abstinence to having sex once a week had a tiny increase of immunoglobulin. The kids that had sex once or twice a week indefinitely had an increase of thirty percent immunoglobulin.
Even for the women there are plenty of aspects that sex helps with, along with what was already stated. Vaginal intercourse helps to maintain vaginal and pelvic function, including through penile thrusting triggering reflex muscular contractions that maintain and improve vaginal function (Brody 1). Women are receiving multiple advantages along with pleasure. More sex for women also means the less chance of Alzheimer’s and osteoporosis. Women who have more sex have higher levels of estrogen, which protects against Alzheimer’s and osteoporosis (Childs 1). The definition of Alzheimer’s is a neurologic disease characterized by loss of mental ability severe enough to interfere with normal activities of daily living, lasting at least six months, and not present from birth (Alzheimer’s 1). Osteoporosis occurs when bones lose an excessive amount of their protein and mineral content, particularly calcium; over time, bone mass, and therefore bone strength, is decreased (Osteoporosis 1). Women without osteoporosis can maintain a perfect posture. When osteoporosis comes into effect, five foot eight women could end up becoming five foot four. So when it comes to women having great posture, sexual intercourse is the best way to go.
On occasion, there will be those days when after work, exercise, school, etc. people are in pain from something they were doing. Coming home in pain can be a very bad thing, because feeling lousy may bring on stress which is not good. It would seem like sex would only help a few things, but the list keeps going; Sex is a pain reliever. Immediately before orgasm, levels of the hormone oxytocin rise by five times, determining a huge release of endorphins (Anetei 1). These chemicals calm pain, from a minor headache to arthritis or migraines, and with no secondary effects. Migraines also disappear because the pressure in the brain’s blood vessels is lowered while we have sex (Anetei 1). So whenever there’s a moment you are in pain and wondering what you could do, before popping five or ten painkillers have sex.
There have always been arguments about if sexual intercourse helps to increase the lifespan or not. A man named Michael Roizen states that “the more sex the better”. The typical man who has 350 orgasms a year, versus the national average of around a quarter of that, lives about four years longer.” And more than those extra four years, Roizen says, the men will feel eight years younger than their contemporaries (Weiss 1). Michael Roizen is an American anesthesiologist and his work is credible, which became the reason why people began to believe his work. British scientists interviewed nearly 1,000 men in six small villages about their sexual frequency, and then arranged for all death records to be forwarded so the scientists could record their life spans. Ten years later they determined that men who had two or more orgasms a week had died at a rate half that of the men who had orgasms less than once a month. “Sexual activity seems to have a protective effect on men’s health,” the researchers concluded (Weiss 1). Based off of this information, the results showed that sexual intercourse has positive effects on increasing the lifespan.
There have been instances where people are watching a movie, and the next day for the main character everyone can tell he or she had sex. This is because sex gets your blood circulation flowing and ups the oxygen levels in your system making your skin look brighter (Glowing Skin 1). When it comes down to it, sex should become a daily routine just like waking up to brush your teeth. Even due to sex helping your skin look brighter it also keeps the acne controlled and away. Following this more, sex makes you sweat and opens up your pores clearing all the stuck up dirt, grime and residual make up (Glowing Skin 1). The balanced hormone levels help you not only control the acne but also give you lustrous hair (Glowing Skin 1). However, just because sexual intercourse helps to brighten skin, hair, and control acne it does not mean to not use the same products you have been using before sexual intercourse. Everyone is different so sexual intercourse may help someone drastically and someone else not as much. There are also the endorphins that help a great deal, which along with relieving pain, it also helps to reduce age spots and sagging (Glowing Skin 1). Lastly, Sexual intercourse plays a huge role when you want some respite from dry skin (Glowing Skin 1). Simple way of saying, sex helps to prevent dry skin. In the meantime, that does not mean for anyone to stop drinking eight glasses of water a day. Maintain what you have been doing, but enjoy the benefits of sex helping out.
Before people started having sex, you have the different types of people. There are the automatic outgoing people, and the very shy people. It has been shown that sexual intercourse helps to boost self-esteem. Boosting self-esteem was one of 237 reasons people have sex, collected by University of Texas researchers and published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior (Benefits of Sex 2). When I was younger, and not sexually active, I was one of those people who was shy and stayed to myself. I would have peers around me who were outgoing, popular, and they talked about sex a lot which began to linger in my head. After a while I began to think that sex would make a person popular and outgoing. So at some point, I went ahead and had sexual intercourse and realized the truth. Sexual intercourse really did make me more outgoing. If you were not outgoing you were not going to have the will power to talk to girls. Furthermore, I realized that having sex did not make you popular, but being outgoing did. The more I started to talk to people and the peers around me, everyone began to know the real me, and not the past me that was sheltered by shyness. Back then I only had sex to make me feel better about myself. Based off this information, I made a statement become factual. "One of the reasons people say they have sex is to feel good about themselves" (Benefits of Sex 2).
Intimacy is about the most important aspect in a relationship as a parent lion leaving their cub to grow up alone. The cub learning to hunt is basically the most important aspect because if he or she does not learn, the cub will die just like a relationship would without intimacy. In a relationship, sexual intercourse will always be an important factor, and oxytocin empowers that. Having sex and orgasms increases levels of the hormone oxytocin, the so-called love hormone, which helps us bond and build trust (Benefits of Sex 2). The relationship I am currently in, we are sexually active and it enhances the relationship status. During intimacy we are closer to each other which in turn produces more oxytocin. Now, sexual intercourse is not the only thing that keeps a relationship going, and it may be the last thing someone does. But, if in the relationship people are partaking in it, then everything should feel smoother, and your connection to that person should increase. Higher oxytocin has also been linked with a feeling of generosity. So if you are feeling suddenly more generous toward your partner than usual, credit the love hormone (Benefits of Sex 2). If there was ever a question as to why after sex you feel compelled to do for your spouse or loved one, then that statement should have answered it. Oxytocin really plays a major role in the bonding process in a relationship. From a regular hug, to a sensational kiss, on to romantic lovemaking, oxytocin does it all.
Sex being a part of most people lives, we have to realize that it is a very important factor. If in a stressful environment and you need a release, go home to your spouse or loved one and have sex. It does not have to be hours long, just as long as oxytocin is working properly, and love is present. Sexual intercourse should be welcomed in a relationship, and it has plenty of benefits that most people would not realize. Go out, experiment, and find out yourself.
Works Cited
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