Does Abstinence From s*x Have Any Effect On Your Body?

Does abstinence from s*x have any effect on your body?

Fact: s*x is good for your marriage. “s*x offers us the ability to emotionally connect with someone else and lower our stress,” says Sari Cooper, certified s*x therapist. “It’s also a good form of exercise for your heart; it raises your heart rate while you’re in action and burns calories.” And as if those pluses weren’t enough to make you want to get down right now, s*x also can also lower your blood pressure, cure headaches, and ease symptoms of depression, Cooper says.

But we’ve all heard the rumor that married couples have less s*x, or fall into s*x ruts. So, the obvious question is, when we’re not having s*x, are we doing harm to our bodies? “While some people thrive and are productive for much of their life without having regular s*x, other people may be more prone to stress-related illness because of their deep need for s*xual connection,” says Cooper.

And while you won’t pack on pounds or up your blood pressure simply because you’re not having regular s*x, your body can’t benefit from what it’s not getting. “s*x is one of those things that my clients say doesn’t play into their thoughts much after they haven’t had it in a while, so their innate er*tic fantasy life kind of gets put on pause or even stops,” Cooper says. “When you’re in the practice of having s*x — and that includes amazing s*x, OK s*x and even mediocre s*x — it keeps your er*tic awareness more conscious and awake, causing you to increase your libido.” And when you can do that, you can reap s*x’s other benefits.