It’s not just the name of that risqué Kylie Minogue song. Science backs the idea of the bedroom workout being good for your health, so add some raunch to your fitness routine.
Ever felt guilty for ditching the gym for a night of nooky with your other half? You shouldn’t. For years, experts have examined the act of sex, delving into people’s minds and bedrooms in a bid to understand all the ins and outs - pardon the pun - of humankind’s most basic desire.
Much has been assumed, imagined and proven wrong about the subject. But one recent study has shown that at least one “myth” about sex is true – it really does count as a legitimate form of exercise.
Of course, the idea of sex being good for you isn’t new. As far back as the 1800s, a participant in a survey by sex scholar and Stanford University professor Dr Clelia Duel Mosher wrote “a rational use of [sex] tends to keep people healthier”. Read on to find out how it can benefit your body and mind.
The best kind of workout
Researchers at the University of Quebec in Canada took 21 young heterosexual couples and monitored their vitals during a 30-minute treadmill run. Next, they kitted them out with armbands
and sent them home with the instructions to have sex at least once a week for the following month.
The armbands recorded data such as calories burned and allowed the researchers to compare the results with those collected from the treadmill test. They found that during a session of moderate-
intensity sex (which includes foreplay and doesn’t have to involve swinging from the rafters), men burnt 17.5 kilojoules per minute and women burnt about 13kJ. That’s on a par with activities such as hatha yoga, dancing and gymnastics (each 17kJ per minute) and brisk walking (19kJ per minute).
The 30-minute jogging session, in comparison, saw the men burn 38kJ per minute and the women burn almost 30kJ. So, yes – jogging will certainly help you get fitter, but we’re pretty sure it will be a lot less fun. Plus, when you compare sex with other everyday activities such as watching TV (3kJ per minute), cooking (10kJ per minute) and reading (5kJ per minute), it looks more like a workout worthy of an Olympic sport – which it could be if you were enthusiastic enough for long enough.
Flu fighter
When it comes to beating colds and flu, you should step away from the medicine and into your lover’s arms. According to a study from Wilkes University in Pennsylvania, people who have sex a couple of times a week have higher levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA), an antibody that fights bugs, than those who indulge less frequently. But don’t get too carried away – it also showed those who had sex more than twice a week had lower IgA levels.
Heart protector
A study at Queens University in Belfast found that having sex three times a week could halve the risk of heart attack. Likewise, a New England Research Institute study showed that men who have sex regularly are up to 45 per cent less likely to suffer serious heart conditions than the once-a-month (or less) group.
Anti-ager
Forget the elixir of life. The secret to longevity could simply be a regular, enjoyable sex life. A 25-year study from Duke University in North Carolina showed that the more often men had sex, the longer they lived, while women who enjoyed their sex life lived seven to eight years longer than those who didn’t.
The same goes for looking youthful, with a 10-year study from the Royal Edinburgh Hospital in Scotland revealing those age-defying properties worked in regards to appearance, too – it found that couples who had sex three times a week or more looked up to 10 years younger than those who got it on twice a week. So maybe it should be “slip, slop, slap and tickle” from now on.
Headache helper
The old excuse of “Not tonight dear, I have a headache” doesn’t wash any more thanks to findings from several studies. Last year, researchers at the University of Münster in Germany found that up to one-third of migraine sufferers said having sex relieved their symptoms. Meanwhile, a study from the Southern Illinois University Headache Clinic revealed that almost half the female participants experienced complete relief from symptoms when they had an orgasm.
Stress buster
Have a stressful situation on your hands? Have sex. A study from the University of the West of Scotland found that having sex at least once in two weeks helped participants deal with anxiety and recover from stressful situations more quickly, with their blood pressure returning to normal faster than those who hadn’t had sex. But this didn’t seem to be the case with masturbation, which researchers believe is because the soothing effects come from your partner’s touch reducing levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
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