S*x comes with its health benefits, but various researches have found that it isn’t only beneficial to the younger couples but the older ones as well.
More frequent s*xual activity has been linked to improved brain function in older adults, according to a study by the universities of Coventry and Oxford.
Researchers found that people who engaged in more regular s*xual activity scored higher on tests that measured their verbal fluency and their ability to visually perceive objects and the spaces between them.
To conduct the study, participants filled in a questionnaire on how often, on average, they had engaged in s*xual activity over the past 12 months — whether that was never, monthly or weekly — as well as answering questions about their general health and lifestyle.
The 28 men and 45 women also took part in a standardized test, which is typically used to measure different patterns of brain function in older adults, focusing on attention, memory, fluency, language and visuospatial ability.
The results suggested that frequency of s*xual activity was not linked to attention, memory or language. In these tests, the participants performed just as well regardless of whether they reported weekly, monthly or no s*xual activity.
This study expanded on previous research from 2016, which found that older adults who were s*xually active scored higher on cognitive tests than those who were not s*xually active.
Lead researcher Dr Hayley Wright, from Coventry University’s Centre for Research in Psychology, Behaviour and Achievement, said:
“We can only speculate whether this is driven by social or physical elements — but an area we would like to research further is the biological mechanisms that may influence this.
“Every time we do another piece of research we are getting a little bit closer to understanding why this association exists at all, what the underlying mechanisms are, and whether there is a ’cause and effect’ relationship between s*xual activity and cognitive function in older people.
“People don’t like to think that older people have s*x — but we need to challenge this conception at a societal level and look at what impact s*xual activity can have on those aged 50 and over, beyond the known effects on s*xual health and general wellbeing.”
The study involved 73 people aged between 50 and 83.
The study was published in The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological and Social Sciences.
S.O.Z