Quick! Name three things that make you healthy.
Chances are, vegetables popped right into your mind. Exercise was probably a close second. And drinking lots of water may have come in third.
The last thing most people think of when it comes to good health is sex. But research has shown that couples who have a healthy, active sex life tend to live longer. Dr. David Weeks, a clinical neuropsychologist at Scotland’s Royal Edinburgh Hospital, studied 3,500 men and women from age 18 to 102. He concluded that sex actually slows the aging process. Couples who had sex three times a week were found to look 10 years younger than those who had sex only twice a week.
Another study, conducted by researchers at the University of Bristol in England, found that mortality rates were 50 percent lower over a 10-year period of time among men who had frequent orgasms (more than twice a week) than among those who had less than one per month.
Besides being a fun form of exercise (you can burn 170 calories per hour!) which supports cardiovascular health, sex provides powerful stress relief, boosts self-esteem and mood and promotes restful sleep. Sex is also known to support prostate and immune health, and provide pain relief.
There’s also intimacy””feeling secure in a relationship leads to feeling happier overall, which could lead to greater health. Sexual satisfaction is no doubt related to quality of life and an increased sense of well-being for men and women at any age.
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