About the benefits beyond the bed

If you are looking at a way of justifying your decision to skip that badminton game and spend the afternoon locked up in your bedroom with your girlfriend, we'll give you more than one. An average lovemaking session burns between 50 to 100 calories, can reduce your risk of heart attack and prostate problems and strengthen your pelvic muscles. Read on to discover more health benefits of this extremely pleasurable activity.

Burn Calories

• Having sex is the most entertaining exercise and one session burns between 50 to 100 calories. Having sex three times a week burns around 7,500 calories per year. The more intense the sex, the more calories you burn. "The amount of calories a person spends on reaching orgasm has been equated with the energy exhausted while doing gardening. There is a rise in blood circulation, heart rate and lung capacity resulting in better cardio and respiratory health," says Dr V K Wadia, consultant, psycho sexual medicine, Adiva Infertility Clinic. Studies show men reduce their risk of heart attack or stroke with regular sexual activity.
• Besides burning calories, hectic activity between the sheets also strengthens your muscles especially the pelvic floor.
• A toned pelvic floor increases your bladder control, protecting you against urinary incontinence.
• Though a recent research points out that vigorous sex can result in brain stroke, experts beg to differ. There are some instances of people dying while in the act, but they are not the norm.
• Instead, according to a study done over 20 years involving 914 men, frequency of sex is not associated with stroke. The study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health also proves that if you are having sex twice or more a week, your chances of a heart attack drop down by half as compared to abstainers or those having sex less than once a month. 

Reduce Stress

• A BIG health benefit of sex is stress reduction. A session between the sheets can make you forget the office barbs or that big dent on your car. "Being a big stress buster, sexual activity gives a sense of psychological fulfilment, enhances body image and boosts self-esteem," says Dr Wadia. Also, the benefits are long term.
• According to a study published in the journal Biological Psychology , those who indulge in regular intercourse are better able to respond to stressful conditions like public speaking than abstainers or those who indulge occasionally.
• However, here is a caveat. Bad sex can give you more reasons to worry. "Those who are not happy with their performance end up with more stress than before," says Dr Prakash Kothari, founder advisor to World Association for Sexual Health. The best way in this scenario is to just enjoy lying with your loved one in the uninhibited state and share some sweet nothings. 

Avoid Prostate Issues

• Problems related to prostate are one of the few disorders specific to male species. From prostate cancer to enlargement of the gland, the problems are not only tough to diagnose but also difficult to treat. However, studies show indulgence in regular sex can help ward off these problems.
• According to a research published in the British Journal of Urology International, frequent ejaculations, especially in 20- something men, may reduce the risk of prostate cancer later in life. Another study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that frequent ejaculations, 21 or more a month, were linked to lower prostate cancer risk in older men, as well.
• The risk of prostate gland enlargement also reduces for men who go for regular sex. "Sexual act has been shown to be a good way to prevent enlargement of prostate gland because with regular ejaculation of semen, the congested blood and infection are also washed out. Masturbation helps in a similar manner because it also involves ejaculation of the semen," says Dr Kothari. 

Relieves Pain

• IF YOU think sex is painful, this one might come as a surprise. Experts say sex actually relieves pain from problems like migraine and even arthritis. Immediately before you reach orgasm, level of hormone oxytocin rises by five times resulting in release of endorphins.
• Endorphins are chemicals which relieve pain with no side effects.
• Those having migraine attacks can also get comfort because pressure in the brain's blood vessels is lowered when you complete the sexual act.
• For women, regular sex increases estrogen production and lessens the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. "If a woman has pain, discomfort or backache during their menses, sex can be helpful because congestion of blood is reduced. Among women who experience orgasm, pain or discomfort reduces by half," says Dr Kothari.
• So now whenever your woman feigns a headache to avoid intimacy, tell her that it is a good enough reason to have sex. 

Use it or Lose it

• ANOTHER good reason to have regular sex is to maintain the optimum balance of sex hormones in the body. "Sexual activity and hormones are interlinked. While hormones are required to maintain a good sex life, abstinence can lead to fall in their optimal levels. These hormones are also essential to maintain a healthy body. It has been unequivocally established that people with lower levels of testosterone tend to suffer from depression and poor muscle mass. They are also at greater risk of memory loss and osteoporosis," says Dr Wadia.
• In women, sex hormone estrogen offers protection against heart disease and in the long run, it can be beneficial against Alzheimer's disease and osteoporosis.
• If all these benefits fail to convince you still, here's the deal breaker: A 10- year research carried on 1,000 middle- aged men at Queens University in Ireland showed that sex on a regular basis increases the human lifespan.
• For the same age and health, those who had orgasms more frequently had half the death rate of men who did not have such frequent orgasms.
• This could be due to the culminating effects of stress reduction, protection against heart attack and prostate cancer besides benefits in face of osteoporosis.