8 Surprising Health Benefits of Sex

Yes, sex can lead to pregnancy but there are other benefits you'll be happy to learn about. In the following article from Woman's Day magazine by Sarah Jio, Dr Desmond Ebanks explains more reasons for you to get intimate tonight with your loved one.

8 Surprising Health Benefits of Sex
Find out how getting intimate can improve your well-being
By Sarah Jio Posted January 04, 2010 from WomansDay.com

Of course sex is healthy, but did you know that a good sex life can provide specific health benefits? We spoke to the experts to find out just how sex improves our health (not that you needed any convincing).

1. It May Make You Thinner
Dread working out? Don’t break up with your treadmill just yet. But if it’s late and you haven’t made it to the gym, don’t forget that sex counts as exercise, too! “Sex burns between 75 and 150 calories per half-hour,” says Desmond Ebanks, MD, founder and medical director of Alternity Healthcare in West Hartford, Connecticut. It’s comparable to other physical activities, he says, like yoga (114 calories per half-hour), dancing (129 calories per half-hour) or walking (153 calories per half-hour).
Bonus: Sex may also help your muscles stay lean in the process. “Sexual arousal and orgasm releases the hormone testosterone, which, among other things, is necessary to build and maintain bone and lean muscle tissue,” he adds.

2. It May Improve Your Heart Health
You’re probably already aware that heart disease is the number-one killer of women. Eating a healthy diet, and keeping your cholesterol low and sodium in check are great ways to stay on top of heart health, but so is having sex. “Sex is exercise that raises heart rate and blood flow,” says Dr. Ebanks. “In a study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, researchers found that having sex twice or more a week reduced the risk of fatal heart attack by half.” While the study results were focused on men, Dr. Ebanks suspects similar effects for women, too.

3. It Can Help You Get a Better Night’s Sleep
What do you do to help you sleep? When chamomile tea and other remedies aren’t doing the job, sex may help—especially if you’re having trouble sleeping due to anxiety or stress. “People having frequent sex often report that they handle stress better,” notes Dr. Ebanks. “The profound relaxation that typically follows orgasm for women and ejaculation or orgasm for men may be one of the few times people actually allow themselves to completely relax. Many indicate that they sleep more deeply and restfully after satisfying lovemaking.”

4. It Can Boost Your Immune System
With all the concerns about cold and flu viruses, combating germs can sometimes feel like a full-time job. Surprisingly, there may be something you can do in the bedroom to keep your immune system strong, says Dr. Ebanks, who points to a study by researchers at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania. “Individuals who have sex once or twice a week show 30 percent higher levels of an antibody called immunoglobulin A, which is known to boost the immune system,” he says. So, make this your new cold-and-flu season mantra: Wash your hands and make a bedroom date with your sweetie—often!

5. It Can Improve Your Mental Health
The quickest way to boost your mood, fight depression and beat anxiety? Patricia Tan, MD, a board-certified internist in Arizona and medical expert for JustAnswer.com, says the answer is simple: sex (in a loving, committed relationship, of course). “Psychologically, sex improves one’s mental health by building intimacy and reducing stress,” she says. “The stress reduction component lowers a person's cortisol level, thereby reducing the chances of increased blood pressure, hyperglycemia and increased acidity in the abdomen.”

6. It Can Help Relieve Pain
You might change “Not tonight, honey, I have a headache” to “Yes, tonight, honey, I have a headache,” or so says Dr. Ebanks, who believes there’s a real correlation between sex and pain management. “Through sexual arousal and orgasm the hormone oxytocin is secreted in your body, which in turn causes the release of endorphins,” he explains. “Because of these natural opiates, sex acts as a powerful analgesic.”

7. It Can Help You with Bladder Control
It may sound weird—the idea that sex can help you minimize incontinence—but it’s true, say experts. Sex therapists have long recommended that women do Kegel exercises (flexing the muscles in your pelvic floor) throughout the day, but also during sex. Why? Not only can the exercises help increase pleasure, they also strengthen the muscles associated with incontinence. You can do Kegels anywhere (including during intercourse), so don’t be shy! Gently flex and tighten your pelvic floor muscles in the same way you would to stop the flow of urine. Hold for three seconds, then release.

8. It May Give You Healthier Skin
Could sex make you more beautiful? It sounds far-fetched, but Eric Braverman, MD, founder of PATH Medical Center in New York City, says having sex releases a key compound in the body that is good for all kinds of things—including improving your complexion. During sex, your body produces a hormone called DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone). “It can boost the immune system, give you healthier skin and even decrease depression,” he says. So much for the night cream!

Benefits of Exercise During Late Pregnancy

30 weeks and still going strong!!

It's hard to believe that I only have about 10 weeks left of this pregnancy to go! Each day my belly seems to get bigger and bigger, but (thankfully) my total body weight hasn't moved a pinch! So far, my total gain is about ~14 lbs and it's been over the last 8 weeks that it's stayed totally stable.

I know that may seem weird to some people, but as long as my baby is growing, the body fat I accumulated in the first trimester will not be missed at all!

You can see from the two pictures here that I look relatively normal for a fit pregnant woman, and I feel really fantastic! Yes, I have my off days, but for the most part, I've been able to train really hard at least once a day if not twice or three times (depends on how many times a day I am required to teach boot camps).

Yesterday and today were just single workout sessions, but they were pretty intense. Both were boot camp classes that involved 20:10 Tabata rounds for 20 mins followed by 50:10 intervals for another 22 minutes. Proceeding and following those rounds were active dynamic warmup followed by an active cool down and stretching.

Here is an example of what I did for one of the days of Tabata rounds:
Round 1 - eight 20 second repeats with 10 second rests of TRX jackknife pushups (4 mins)
Round 2 - as above, Med Ball Slam Downs with a 12 lb Dynamax Ball (4 mins)
Round 3 - ", Four point rows with 12 lbs DBs (4 mins)
Round 4 - ", Reverse Lunges (same leg 4x) with DB bicep curls (4 mins)
One minute rest between each round for about 20 mins.

Then, for the 50:10s:
1) Burpees
2) Speed Skaters
3) Slow Mtn Climbers
4) Body Weight Front Squats
5) High Knee Runs (for me, these were modified to High Knee to Elbow Touches because the pressure on my bladder from baby and the pressure on my lower belly was a bit intense)
This was repeated 4 times for about 22 mins.

Previously, before pregnancy, I still trained hard, but this type of interval training is amazing and so gratifying. I'm looking forward to continuing this after I deliver (probably following a bit of a break, if you know what I mean) and am excited to watch the fat melt off my body. Hey, if it can curtail fat gain during pregnancy when my fat storage hormones are surging and my sweet tooth is somewhat aggressive, I can just imagine what it'll do when I reach a normal baseline.

To all you pregnant ladies out there: we're learning each and every day how and why training during your pregnancy is so good for you AND your baby (NOTE: this information comes from one of the most prominent pregnancy and exercise researchers, Dr James Clapp III, who has studied many pregnant competitive Olympic athletes):

• you accumulate less body fat
• you have a positive sense of well-being and vigor when you might tend to be pessimistic, depressed or lethargic
• you have a reduced incidence of upper respiratory tract infections (colds, sinusitis, etc)
• you'll tend to have an easier, shorter and less complicated labour
• you can actually IMPROVE your fitness level and physical performance (I can attest to that!)
  
• your baby has developed an improved tolerance to stress and as such, can handle the stress of labour much better than a baby of a sedentary woman (i.e., fewer drops in heart rate with each contraction)
  
• your baby has less body fat, but is still able to maintain it's body temperature
• your baby will most likely be more mature at birth, meaning, they respond readily to environmental cues and will self-quiet themselves if disturbed when napping
• your baby will also be a better sleeper (less likely to wake easily)
• your baby will probably perform better on standardized intelligence tests as they advance in age
• your baby will grow to be a less-fat adult (which is great news in our society of excess overweightness)

Remember: there's a balance between enough exercise for you and baby and too much. If you start feeling unwell during exercise, back off. For me, I've found a few exercises that make me sick: Swiss ball jackknife crunches make me a bit nauseous, so I've stopped doing them; too many jumping jacks or jump rope seem to put a lot of stress on my belly, so I've curtailed how much I do (same with high knee runs); prone positions are getting a lot harder to do (like prone T-raises), so I'm starting to take them out of my program.

Bottom Line: Exercise if you can, exercise if you're healthy. Not every woman is in this situation, but if you're well and have no complications, there should be no reason for you to give up something you love doing.

Stay strong!