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Sex is often dismissed as a nice extra, but in the consulting room it rarely receives the same serious attention as nutrition or exercise. Yet evidence is mounting that physical intimacy deeply affects our stress system, immune system and even our lifespan. This is what the serious Wall Street Journal writes. This does not make sex a miracle pill, but it does make it an underestimated factor in prevention and recovery.
A recent clinical study among 80 couples showed that a combination of physical intimacy and the cuddle hormone oxytocin made small skin wounds heal significantly faster. Intimate contact also appeared to lower the stress hormone cortisol, a known inhibitor of wound repair and defense. Or as the researchers summarize: physical proximity and neurohormones work together to influence how quickly the body repairs.
From wound healing to longer lifespan
This healing power is not limited to a scrape. Large-scale research into sexual frequency and health finds a clear link between an active sex life and lower mortality rates. In an analysis in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, people who had sex more than 52 times a year had a 49 percent lower overall mortality than people who (almost) never had sex.
Newer research in Scientific Reports also shows that people who have sex between 12 and 103 times a year are, on average, less likely to die from cardiovascular disease or cancer. The authors emphasize that the connection is not proof of cause and effect, but points to known mechanisms: sex lowers stress, promotes sleep, involves light exercise and is often linked to a more stable relationship.
More than performance in bed
Anyone who says ‘sex as medicine’ runs the risk of increasing the pressure on performance. While quality and experience seem to be at least as important as frequency. In older men, a very high rate of penetrative sex was even linked to more heart problems, while good sexual quality actually seemed to protect women.
