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The Love Doctor’s New Advice for Overworked Moms
Overworked moms might find solace in an unexpected place, according to recent research.
The Effect of Sex on Chronic Stress
Engaging in regular sexual activity could aid mothers in warding off the harmful side effects induced by chronic stress, particularly metabolic disorders, a new study has found. Most importantly, the research focuses on mothers with young children on the autism spectrum. Findings indicate those who engaged in regular sexual activity demonstrated higher levels of healthy metabolic hormones than their sexually inactive counterparts.
Chronic stress can significantly harm the body, leading to elevated risks of heart disease, depression, obesity, stroke, and diabetes. However, engaging in any extra physical activity can help prevent such diseases.
Relationship Research and Chronic Stress
“Examining the negative outcomes chronic stress can have on metabolic health, it’s important to explore protective factors. Being a relationship researcher, I’m fascinated by how different aspects of our relational experiences may serve a protective role,” says Yoobin Park, postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, and author of the study.
As Park explains, sexual activity appeared as an interesting area due to its role in stress relief and enhancing processes such as sleep, which gets affected by stress, leading to metabolic problems. To fill the gap in our understanding of whether sexual activity could counteract the biological impacts of stress, this exploratory research ventured into a completely new domain.
The Research Methodology
The study followed 183 women ranging in age from 20 to 50 years, all with at least one child aged between 2 and 16 years. Researchers asked these women to engage in regular Perceived Stress Scale assessments over two years. Each assessment required participants to complete 7-day diary questionnaires and visit a clinic to give health data, including blood samples for key metabolic indicators such as insulin, insulin resistance, leptin, and ghrelin.
The Role of Sexual Activity and Stress
The final two assessments were crucial as they centred around inquiries about sexual activity, asking mothers daily if they had engaged in sexual intercourse the night before. Other related variables were also considered, such as respondents’ overall relationship contentment and everyday physical activity levels. Women who reported at least one sexual encounter during the week-long assessment were labelled as sexually active. Post data collection, 101 women were found to be either consistent in sexual activity or consistently inactive.
The “high-stress” group comprised mothers who cared for at least one ASD child, with the rest classified into the “low-stress” group.
Sexual Activity’s Impact on Metabolic Health
Generally, moms under high stress were found to have higher insulin and insulin resistance levels and lower ghrelin levels compared to low-stress mothers. Nonetheless, these outcomes were different when sexual activity was considered. High-stress but sexually inactive moms faced worse metabolic health than those with more sexual activity. On the other hand, all sexually active mothers exhibited similar metabolic profiles regardless of stress group.
Park summarises the findings, stating, “In essence, our results suggest that the negative effects on metabolic health related to stress were significantly lessened among those who were sexually active.” He pointed out these benefits to PsyPost, noting that they were prevalent despite levels of physical exercise and relationship satisfaction. He added, “While more understanding is needed on the exact methods through which sexual activity protects against the harmful effects of stress on metabolic health, our results indicate that being sexually active offers benefits beyond being generally active and in a happy relationship.”
The Future of Sex and Health Research
The research team hopes their findings will contribute a wider understanding of sex’s health benefits. Acknowledging the necessity for more research, Park emphasizes the need “to delve deeper into the mechanisms underlying the benefits of sex and to understand the generalizability of its protective effects.”
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