9 Things That Happen To Your Body If You Stop Having Sex
A bout of celibacy won’t have lasting effects on your overall health, but still could be in for some unexpected changes.
You May Fell A Change In Your Libido
Sex is a powerful thing. It has the power to improve your mood and even whittle your waistline, and sex one a week can even increase longevity. But what if you’re not having regular sex – or any sex at all? The health effects of celibacy vary based on your health, how old you are, and even what kind of sex you were having but you will likely see some impacts, says Sari Cooper, LCSW, certified sex therapist. For starters, you may feel either a loss of sex drive – or an increase in libido! “For some people who refrain from sex, they begin to feel more sluggish, with less vitality and hunger for sex”, Cooper says. “Out of sight out of mind is how some of my clients describe the scenario”. Because it’s not on your radar, you may tune out sexual desire. On the other hand, for some people, not having sex could make it even more desirable. “You might not be thinking about it all the time”, says Lauren Streicher, MD, author of Sex Rx: Hormones, Health, and Your Best Sex Ever. “It’s really variable.
You May Feel More Down In The Dumps
Sex is part physical, part mental. “When people have sex they’re usually having skin-to-skin contact, and this kind of contact is the first primal way we as humans get comforted (as babies with our mothers)”, Cooper says. “Sexual connection give partners loads of skin – to – skin caressing and touch and can help to regulate one another’s moods”, through the release of the feel-good hormone endorphins. Without the benefits of these natural pick-me-ups, you might be prone to feeling low – but that doesn’t mean you’ll become clinically depressed. Although studies have shown that depression and a lack of sex are linked, this reflects an association, not cause and effect. “If you are a healthy person and you stop having sex, you’re not going to depressed because of it”, Dr. Streicher says.
You May Have Less Lubrification
For older women, the vagina can also have a hard time getting lubricated when you do start having intercourse again. As with thinning of the vaginal walls, this happens as women age because of the lack of hormones such as estrogen. ‘If you take a young woman’s 20 or 30 years old she’s going to have plenty of estrogen around to make sure those tissues stay healthy, elastic, and lubricated”, when she’s not having sex, Dr. Streicher says. “If you take someone who’s 60 and has no estrogen, she has lost that piece of it”. Cooper says it’s important to keep things flowing, even in the absence of a partner: “The vaginal lubrication lessens with age, and if you’re not being turned on through self-pleasure, erotic books, videos, or a partner, the lubrication can begin to lessen more quickly”.
You May Have More Discomfort During Sex
According to the North American Menopause Society, regular intercourse is important for vaginal health after menopause. “Without regular frequency of intercourse as you get older, the walls of your vagina thin out and can lead to painful sex when you finally get back into the sack”, Cooper says. Less frequent intercourse also provides less physical stimulation, which produces lubrication. Vaginal estrogen creams may help slow or reverse this process.
You May Feel More – Or Less – Stressed
Like the other psychological effects of a lack of sex, this one is tricky. “People who are less stressed tend to have more sex, but again it’s an association, not cause and effect”, Dr. Streicher says. That said, if sex is a stress reliever for you, not having could it, in fact, cause an increase in your stress level, one small study from Scotland even showed that blood pressure reactivity to stress was lower among people who had intercourse than those who abstained. But, Dr. Steicher says, “for some women sex is actually stressful for a variety of reason: Ot may be painful, or it could be one more thing on their – to – do list”.
You May Lower Your Risk of UTIs
It might not be a surprise that the risk of sexually transmitted infections go down if you’re not having sex, but the rates of urinary tract infections may decrease as well. But this depends on the kind of sex you’re having. “It’s intercourse that’s responsible for potentially increasing the risk of recurrent bladder infections’, Dr. Streicher says, due to the spread of bacteria that can occur. Eghty percent of UTIs is premenopausal women occurs within 24 hours of having sex, and frequency of sexual intercourse is the strongest predictor of recurrent urinary tract infections, according to research publish in American Family Physician. If you’re not having intercourse, you avoid these risks.
You May Have Worse Menstrual Cramps
Surprisingly, sex may help alleviate cramps during your period. Although it hasn’t been well studied, Dt. Streicher says the rationale is sound. “The uterus is a muscle and many women will actually have a uterine contraction when they orgasm, which will cause the blood to expel more quickly, which will turn decrease menstrual cramps”, she explains. “Also, there may be an increase in endorphins, which also will help with menstrual cramps”. This is an unexpected benefit you lose if you’re not having sex – but fortunately, this one doesn’t require a partner to remedy.
You May Become Less Intelligent
Okay you might not exactly be losing smarts but sex does affect our cognition. People who engaged is more regular sexual activity scored higher on tests that measured their verbal and spatial skills, according to a study published in The Journal of Gerontology. In addition, people who reported having sex scored higher on cognitive tests than those who had not had sex recently. The researchers think the brain boost may have to do with the hormones released during sex.
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