Study: Routine Sex Lowers The Risk Of Early Death In Women

Illustration of a husband and wife (Freepik/Freepik)

JAKARTA - A surprising new study and managed to steal the public's attention found that women who have an active sex life tend to have a longer life.

This finding was published in the Journal of Psychosexual Health and stated that the frequency of intimate relationships can have a direct impact on heart health and inflammation levels in the body.

Reporting from the news.com.au page, researchers found that women aged 20 to 59 who rarely have sex, less than once per week face a 70 percent higher risk of early death than those who do it more often.

On the other hand, women who have sex more than once a week have lower levels of inflammatory protein, namely protein if excessive can damage cells, tissue, and organs of the body.

The study was conducted by a team from capki University, Minnesota, which analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey on 14,542 adults in the United States over the age of 20.

They conclude that sexual activity more than once a week can have a positive impact on women's health, especially in terms of preventing cardiovascular disease.

Sexual activity is important for overall heart health, possibly because it is able to reduce heart rate variability and increase blood flow, the researchers wrote.

Furthermore, this study attributes the frequency of sex, depression, and the risk of death. The combination of depression and low frequency of intimate relationships is touted as a factor that exacerbates the risk of death. However, women who remain sexually active appear to be protected from these negative effects.

"Depression has a different impact on men and women," said Dr. Srikanta Banerjee, lead author of this study, told Mail Online.

"Depression contributes to the increase in mortality due to the impact on various health aspects. However, the endorphins released during sex may help reduce this risk," he added.

He also suspected that sexual activity could be a form of natural protection for women who are depressed.

"Maybe sex is more effective because the impact of depression on women tends to be more severe," he said.

Interestingly, this study also revealed inversely proportional facts for men. Researchers found that the too high frequency of sex could actually increase the risk of a man's death by up to six times compared to a woman.

"This shows that the frequency of sexual intercourse interacts with gender in relation to the risk of death," the researchers wrote.

"By understanding healthy sexual frequencies, we can at the same time overcome other health inequality," he added.

Meanwhile, the New Aussie Debate 2023 survey conducted by news.com.au shows that most Australians have sex frequencies around once a week or once to twice a month. Those aged 18 to 29 tend to be more active, with nearly a third of respondents admitting to having sex more than twice a week.

However, as is often the case, fatigue, stress, and busy life, especially in couples with children, which are the main obstacle to healthy sexual life. On average, couples with children are only able to have sex one to four times per month.

With more and more research showing a connection between sex and health, it may be time to see this activity not only in terms of pleasure, but also as part of a healthy lifestyle, especially for women.