A new study suggests that, for at least some people, spending more time alone in bed could shorten your lifespan. Scientists have found a link between less frequent sex and a higher risk of early death in women in general, and a link between less frequent sex and early death in men who are depressed in particular.
Many studies pointed There is a clear link between sex life and overall health. Sex can be a great stress reliever, but so can frequent sexual relationships. Sexual health can also be a barometer of overall health. Several chronic diseases can impair sexual function. DiabetesMale erectile dysfunction Even predictions Address problems like heart disease before they become evident.
Researchers at Walden University wanted to better understand the association between sex and longevity, especially in relation to other factors such as depression. They looked at data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a long-term, nationwide survey of Americans’ diets and lifestyles conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
They tracked the health and sex lives of nearly 15,000 adults over the age of 20. Those who said they had sex fewer than 52 times per year (per week) were considered low-frequency, based on other studies that show that Americans, on average, have sex about once a week. While only a third of those surveyed said they had sex more than once a week, nearly all said they had sex more than 12 times a year, or about once a month.
The researchers found that having less frequent sex was associated with earlier death (about 70% more likely) among women overall, but not among men. This pattern follows a dose-response curve: the less frequent a woman had, the higher her risk of dying early. And for women, there was still a (smaller) association between having less frequent sex and earlier death, even after the researchers controlled for other factors, like depression and pre-existing health conditions. For men, the situation was a bit more complicated: depressed men who had less frequent sex were more than twice as likely to die early than depressed men who had more frequent sex, for example.
“A unique finding of this study is the long-term effect of low sexual frequency on premature mortality in a large, nationally representative cohort followed over a long period of time,” the researchers wrote in their paper. Published Thursday Journal of Mental Health.
These findings only show a correlation between sex and longevity, not a clear causal relationship. But they do suggest that a good sex life is key to overall health. Aside from mental health benefits, the act of sex itself may be good for you. The authors note that “sexual activity is important for overall cardiovascular health due to reduced heart rate variability and increased blood flow.”
If you and your partner need a little more inspiration to get you in the mood this weekend, here it is.
