Study shows sex improves life
Corey Hann
Issue date: 9/26/00 Section: NEWS
New research suggests that sex may actually keep your heart healthy, increase your immunity to disease and might even make you physically stronger. Does your partner need any more convincing?
Scientists at the University of Tubingen's Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology in Germany recently studied 51 men between the ages of 20 and 47. Of that group, the men who had sex 16 or more times per month had stronger hearts and lower average blood pressure than guys of the same fitness level and age group who had sex eight times or fewer per month.
Their theory: By giving guys a way to manage day-to-day difficulties and reducing stress, it also helped them stay in better shape by providing them with one more source of aerobic activity -- namely sex.
Commenting on the study, Patti Britton, a sexologist based in Los Angeles, said she believes that sex can be a fruitful way of burning calories and is often overlooked as a form of exercise.
"Sex can be a vigorous and strenuous exercise," Britton said. "It engages the neurological pathways and blood flow, which depend totally on the cardiovascular system."
Sexual intercourse, including foreplay, can burn up to 180 calories an hour, according to the American Heart Association. That's more than playing a game of touch football and more than twice the energy used during moderate weight training.
"I read somewhere that you burn a ton of calories. It certainly could be classified as exercise," said Joanne Montalbano, a senior biology major at Syracuse University. "Though I think some guys burn more calories by just staring at women's breasts alone."
The only problem with these results is that most people don't engage in sex long enough to reap the cardiovascular rewards, said William Fitzgerald, a sex therapist based in Santa Clara, Calif., and founder of www.sexdoc.com.
"The average foreplay is only four minutes, while the average time from intromission to ejaculation is 90 seconds," he said. "That ain't enough time to get your heart and lungs at optimum for more than 30 seconds."
Fitzgerald did note, however, that regardless of how long sexual activity lasts, it can inspire production of testosterone, a major contributor to lean muscle gain, and can also improve people's lives immeasurably.
"I don't know where I would be without sex," said Todd Mytkowicz, a senior computer science major. "I definitely feel that it's made improvements in many parts of my life."
Corey Hann is a reporter for the Daily Orange at Syracuse University. Article reprinted with permission.
