Less Sex, Higher Chance of Dying?

A study in the Journal of Psychosexual Health found that women who rarely have sex have a 70% higher risk of dying compared to women who have sex at least once a week. Your first question may be “So what’s considered rarely?” For this study, they categorized responses only by the weekly cut-off -- less than once a week, or once a week or more. 

The group who reported a frequency of once a week or more had an average age of 36 years, while those having sex less than once a week had an average age of 40. The group having less sex tended to have elevated C-reactive protein levels, which is an indicator of inflammation, and were more likely to be depressed. (But, they were also more likely to have never smoked and to be more educated.)

Overall, 95% of the participants, which ranged in age from 20-59 years old, had sex more than 12 times per year, and 38% had sex more than once per week. Previous research also found that the key frequency was once per week and that there didn’t seem to be better outcomes in participants’ well-being if they had sex more often than that.

Here are some more things to consider when it comes to how much sex you’re having:

More sex

• Reduces stress and improve mood by releasing endorphins and oxytocin
• Boosts immune system
• Improves sleep quality from release of hormone, prolactin
• Improves heart health by increasing heart rate and circulation

Less sex

• Increases chance of earlier menopause
• Tightening/thinning of vaginal tissue