Health News of Monday, 3 January 2011

Source: .ivillage.com

Why You Need to Have Sex (and Lots of It)

  • Sex lowers blood pressure and reduces overall stress, according to Scottish research.

  • Sex keeps colds away: Having sex once or twice a week has been linked with higher levels of an antibody called immunoglobulin A, or IgA, which can protect you from getting colds and other infections.

  • Sex keeps you slim: Depending on how acrobatic you are, 30 minutes of sex burns 55 calories or more. It may not sound like much, but it adds up.

  • Sex helps your heart: While we’ve all seen movies where an old man has a heart attack while getting his groove on in bed, the truth is having sex twice or more a week can actually reduce the risk of a fatal heart attack.

  • Sex helps you sleep: Oxytocin, a hormone released during orgasm, promotes sleep, according to research.

  • Sex keeps you fit below the belt: Doing a few pelvic-floor muscle exercises known as Kegels during sex offers a couple of benefits: You will enjoy more pleasure, and you’ll also strengthen the muscles and minimize the risk of incontinence later in life

  • Sex helps you live longer: Many experts, such as cardiothoracic surgeon and best-selling author Dr. Mehmet Oz, report that having regular sex extends your life by years.