By Jennifer Mullen, NTM
“Exercise facilitates the movement of the vital essences of sex” - Christine DeLozier
Move Your Body
We generally know that exercise, along with diet, is important if we want to reach and maintain optimal health, and this is also true for sexual health. Moving your body on a regular basis in the form of exercise fuels better sex through increased stamina, endurance, responsiveness, energy and lightness, as well as having impacts on sex hormones and libido.1 Cardiovascular exercise is important for heart health, endurance and maintaining a healthy weight, all factors in performance and overall sexual satisfaction. But cardio is not all, building strength and muscle also has huge benfits to sexuality by raising testosterone in both men and women, increasing strength for stamina and keeping core and pelvic floor muscles strong, which will help ensure strong orgasm and fend off sexual dysfunction.2,3 A consistent exercise routine is shown to improve erection quality and sexuality in men, and facilitates arousal and produces great orgasm in women.1 Both strength training and cardio are important factors in weight loss and maintenance, and some research suggests a correlation between body fat percentage and sexual satisfaction, with more body fat being associated with greater sexual dysfunction. Exercise increases sexual behavior and satisfaction for women and provides men easier arousal and erectile function, it also stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, further facilitating sexual response.1 Consistant exercise also benefits sexual health by positively altering gut microbial diversity, benefitting nearly all aspects of health, including sex.1 The best way to begin, if you are not already exercising, is to aim for something that fits your schedule, it does not have to be a hassle or overly strenuous, just move!
Be Mindful
Our state of mind has a large effect on the health of our bodies,1 including sexual, and stress management strategies are important tools to incorporate into a healthy lifestyle. High stress, especially sustained, can have negative affects on physical and mental health by increasing blood pressure, cause sleep problems, affect brain development, lower immunity, and impact sex drive.4 Mindfulness practices are a great way to help reduce stress and symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as cortisol levels, which is a major libido killer and will lower testosterone.1,5 Box breathing, a practice that can be used for meditation, relaxation and stress management,4 as well as help heighten performance and concentration, is a way of breathing slowly and deliberately to calm your nervous system. Other ways to use mindfulness to reduce stress and anxiety would be progressive muscle relaxation, the practice of visualizing your muscles relaxing, one area of the body at a time.5 Guided imagery by focussing on deep breaths and feelings of calm through images or thoughts of places, people and things that bring you peace, can be really useful in reducing stress,5 and sexy thoughts have even been shown to have some positive effects on arousal in women.6 If you have ever done yoga, you know it is a great form of exercise and overall feelings of wellbeing, but it also has been shown to improve female sexual health through increase in desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm and satisfaction.1 Sleep plays a huge role in how healthy you are as a whole, and not getting enough sleep will leave you feeling way less sexy, and many things can determine how well you sleep, but one of the biggest culprits for bad sleep patterns in stress. However, as it turns out, not only does good sleep lead to good sex, but good sex also leads to good sleep, so either way, creating the habit of getting enough sleep will positively affect your health, including sexual.5 We now know that stress can detract form healthy satisfying sex, and some ways to combat stress, but we have one more way manage that stress, by having sex. Aside from the feelings of relaxation and satisfaction after sex, recent research on women and the possible benefits of semen when absorbed into the bloodstream, show a correlation with elements of semen having antidepressant properties.7 There is more to learn on this, for sure, but the benefits of lowering stress are clear, and for more than just sex.
Lifestyle Matters
Part of lifestyle are the habits we keep, and there are many habits that are better left in the past if we are going to live our fullest, most satisfying sexual lives. Sleep was discussed earlier, but it can’t be overstated how important getting enough sleep is on all our body systems. There is the saying “I’ll sleep when I die” but, in reality, if you don’t sleep you will, at least, feel like you want to die. Sleep is essential for everything we do, including work, childcare, exercise, and sex, and many of us do not get enough of it on a regular basis. Sleep, in addition to keeping us healthy and energetic, maintains stable dopamine levels, which is necessary for sexual arousal and performance. Not enough sleep will also trigger inflammation, impairing blood vessels, and is a major factor in sexual dysfunction.1 Of course, having sex does benefit sleep with the rise in feel good hormones and a drop in cortisol lowering stress,5 as well as the physical activity of sex leading to muscle relaxation, and better sleep.8 Other unhealthy habits that have direct effects on our sexual health include excess alcohol consumption and smoking. Alcohol will cause cortisol levels to increase, which we already know is a stress hormone, putting a huge damper on your libido, as well as causing higher levels of stress on blood vessels, and healthy blood vessels are imperative to sexual health.1 Smoking causes, among other things, exposure to the heavy metal cadmium, which is known to have adverse affects on reproduction and the bioavailability of sex hormones in the body.1 We are also exposed to heavy metals in the environment, our water supply and even our food, and not only are they known neurotoxins and carcinogens, they disrupt the endocrine system, affect sex hormones, nervous and GI systems, have cardiovascular affects, and affect nerve function, which are all important to sexual function and pleasure.1 One good way to decrease exposure to heavy metals in day to day life is choose organic whenever possible. Conventional produce is treated with pesticides and the residue can accumulate in our bodies over time, causing varying levels of heavy metal build up.1 Drinking and, if possible, bathing in filtered water will also help get rid of some heavy metal exposure, as well as filtering your home air. Another way to reduce exposure to heavy metals in our daily lives is by seeking safer personal care products, like makeup, sunscreen and toothpaste, as well as steering clear of aluminum and nonstick coated cookware. This could be a whole topic in itself, but warrants a mention here as the effects of heavy metals and other chemicals we are exposed to on a daily basis are severely detrimental to our sexual and overall, long term health.
**To learn more about how to continue nutritional and lifestyle support to increase and maintain your sexual health throughout life you can reach me at jen@arousewellness.com for a free consult.
Medical/Health Disclaimer: This blog provides information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images, and other material contained herein, for educational purposes only. This blog is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment by a doctor or other qualified medical professional. Always consult with your doctor or other qualified medical professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before embarking on a new health care program. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in this blog.
references:
1. DeLozier, Christine, L.Ac. Diet for Great Sex: Food For Male and Female Sexual Health. Copyright 2020 by Christine DeLozier
2. Bordoni B, Sugumar K, Leslie SW. Anatomy, abdomen and pelvis, pelvic floor. In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024
3. Martinez CS, Ferreira FV, Castro AA, et al. Women with greater pelvic floor muscle strength have better sexual function. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2014;93(5):497-502. doi:10.1111/aogs.12379
4.Norelli SK, Long A, Krepps JM. Relaxation techniques. In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024.
5. Socioaffect Neurosci Psychol. 2016;6:31815. doi:10.3402/snp.v6.31815 Rackal Y. Why doesn't sleep advice talk about sex? CMAJ. 2021;193(11):E384-E385. doi:10.1503/cmaj.1095926
6. Goldey KL, van Anders SM. Sexy thoughts: effects of sexual cognitions on testosterone, cortisol, and arousal in women. Horm Behav. 2011;59:754–64.
7.Gallup GG Jr, Burch RL, Platek SM. Does semen have antidepressant properties? Arch Sex Behav. 2002;31:289–93.
8. Gianotten WL, Alley JC, Diamond LM. The health benefits of sexual expression. Int J Sex Health. 2021;33:478–93.
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