Health benefits of sex and sexuality

Sexuality is an integral part of the entire human life. It covers things like sexual development, sexual orientation, biological sex, social gender identity and reproduction. Sexual self-image is an important part of an individual’s personality. It can be manifested via thoughts, images, emotions, the body and in our relationships with ourselves and others.

Sexuality may include sexual activity, i.e. sex, alone or with one or multiple partners. Sexuality reflects your identity, whereas sex reflects what we choose to do or choose not to do. Knowing your sexual identity can also refer to sexual health without any sexual activity.

Requirements for beneficial sexual health

Good sexual health requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships. It should also include the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences without compulsion, discrimination or violence. At best, your sexuality gives you energy, liberty and strength, and makes it easier to accept yourself and your spectrum of emotions. Sometimes sexuality can affect your well-being by causing anxiety and fear. These can be discussed with a health professional if necessary, for example as part of FSHS’s sex counselling services.

Everyone has a right to personal integrity, including sexual sovereignty. Everyone also has a right to decide about their body and their sexuality, and only this makes the health benefits of sex possible.

Health benefits of sex

Safe, consent-based sex, either alone or with a partner/partners, has many health benefits backed up by research.

• Sex evokes positive emotions such as pleasure and enjoyment.
• The memory improves. An active sex life expands the hippocampus, an area of the brain responsible for memory and learning.
• Pain and stress are eased, as the hormones released during sex such as oxytocin, endorphins and dopamine increase pleasure and raise the pain threshold. These ‘feel-good’ hormones also tend to boost sexual desire.
• As the nervous system winds down, the body and the mind relax.
• Even short pleasurable sexual experiences reduce blood pressure and strengthen the heart.
• Quality of sleep improves for the same hormonal and neural reasons. After an orgasm, the body secretes prolactin that helps you to relax and acts as a natural sleeping aid.
• A good physical work-out. If you have sex three times a week either alone or with a partner/partners, you can burn up to 7,500 calories a year, the equivalent of running about 100 kilometres. Your abdominal, back and leg muscles get stronger too.
• The pelvic floor muscles get regular training during sex, and blood circulation in the pelvic area improves. This in turn strengthens the erection and women’s ability to experience physical pleasure. Urinary continence also improves.
• Regular sex may improve resistance to illness, as it can increase the level of immunoglobulin A in the blood.
• Regular ejaculations reduce the risk of prostate cancer.
• You may live longer. According to some studies, those with a regular sex live several years longer than those who don’t have sex at all.

Sexuality reflects our relationship to our inner imagination and to our body. If you’re able to love and respect your body as it is and let it experience enjoyment, you know how to respect your partner during sex and let them gain the health benefits of sex too.

FSHS Psychologist, 22 April 2022