2. Sex helps you forget Oxytocin, which triggers orgasm, has an amnesic effect that lasts up to five hours. So for a period of time you forget that he maxed out your Visa card or she was an hour late getting home from work. Women get an additional benefit. During orgasm that parts of the brain that govern fear, anxiety, and stress are switched off. (Faking orgasm gives no such benefit.)
5. Heightened sense of smell After sex, production of prolactin surges, causing stem cells in the brain to develop new neurons in the brain’s smell center (olfactory bulb).
6. Weight loss Rambunctious sex burns a minimum of two hundred calories, about the same as running fifteen minutes on a treadmill. British researchers determined that the equivalent of six Big Macs can be worked off by having sex three times a week for a year.
9. Healthier heart Women who have more sex have higher levels of estrogen, which protects against heart disease.
10. Cure for the common cold Once-a-week sex produces 30 percent higher levels of immunoglobulin A, which boosts the immune system.
11. Better bladder control Sex strengthens the pelvic muscles that control the flow of urine.
15. Relief for a stuffy nose Really. Sex is a natural antihistamine. It can even help combat hay fever and asthma. 17. Boosts immune system Endorphins stimulate immune-system cells that fight disease.
19. Protection against Alzheimer’s and osteoporosis Women who have more sex have higher levels of estrogen, which protects against Alzheimer’s and osteoporosis.
