Do Men Who Have More Sex Live Longer?
Men tend to live shorter lives compared to women due to a variety of factors. For example, men are less likely than women to seek medical attention, increasing their risk of disease and death. Luckily, there are a multitude of ways to increase one’s lifespan through diet and lifestyle, but is sex one of them?
According to researchers, regular sex leads to healthier arteries and decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. They found that frequent orgasms reduced risk of mortality by 50%. Another study observed a 36% drop in mortality risk for every 100 orgasms had per year.
This effect is believed to be caused by the spike in testosterone men experience when sexually intimate. Interestingly, however, masturbation doesn’t cause the same spike in sex hormones.
Not only does regular sex protect men from cardiovascular disease, but higher levels of testosterone have also been correlated with decreased risk of obesity, type II diabetes, renal and respiratory illnesses.
But are all kinds of sex protective?
Apparently not. A higher risk of strokes, heart attacks and cardiovascular-related deaths have been observed in men who cheat. Perhaps due to the mental turmoil, stress or greater exuberance of the secret partners, considering men tend to seek extramarital sex with younger partners.
Protected sex is emphasised as sexually transmitted infections left untreated can increase mortality and lead to a variety of health complications.
The good news is, when performed safely, sex may very likely increase your or your lover’s lifespan.
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References
Davey Smith, G., Frankel, S., & Yarnell, J. (1997). Sex and death: are they related? Findings from the Caerphilly Cohort Study. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 315(7123), 1641–1644. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.315.7123.1641
Ebrahim, S., May, M., Ben Shlomo, Y., McCarron, P., Frankel, S., Yarnell, J., & Davey Smith, G. (2002). Sexual intercourse and risk of ischaemic stroke and coronary heart disease: the Caerphilly study. Journal of epidemiology and community health, 56(2), 99–102. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.56.2.99
Fisher, A. D., Bandini, E., Rastrelli, G., Corona, G., Monami, M., Mannucci, E., & Maggi, M. (2012). Sexual and cardiovascular correlates of male unfaithfulness. The journal of sexual medicine, 9(6), 1508–1518. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2012.02722.x
McElligott K. A. (2014). Mortality from sexually transmitted diseases in reproductive-aged women: United States, 1999-2010. American journal of public health, 104(8), e101–e105. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2014.302044
Muraleedharan, V., & Jones, T. H. (2014). Testosterone and mortality. Clinical endocrinology, 81(4), 477–487. https://doi.org/10.1111/cen.12503
Parzeller, M., Bux, R., Raschka, C., & Bratzke, H. (2006). Sudden cardiovascular death associated with sexual activity : A forensic autopsy study (1972-2004). Forensic science, medicine, and pathology, 2(2), 109–114. https://doi.org/10.1385/FSMP:2:2:109
