On top of being able to make you feel amazing, orgasms are not only good for helping to defend your body from disease, but also boost heart health and allows your mind to de-stress.
While these benefits may not exactly be news to you, we bet the ones below are…
From improving your sense of smell to having the effect of a bedtime lullaby, we look at five peculiar ways an orgasm can actually boost your health – and your fertility.
1. Improve your skin
It could be time to sideline that expensive eye-cream, because sex glow is a real thing. Orgasm triggers the release of oxytocin, more fondly known as the ‘love hormone’, which helps ease the stress hormone cortisol.
When these levels dip, so do those signs of skin inflammation, making eczema, pimples and blemishes less noticeable. Plus, an increase in dehydroepiandrosterone levels will keep hair shiny and skin bright.
2. Enjoy a heightened sense of smell
The rush that follows an orgasm releases a hormone called prolactin, which helps stem cells in the brain develop new neurons in the olfactory bulb or smell centre.
While you can achieve an enhanced schnoz from self-service, a recent study found that a bed buddy increases prolactin release by 400 per cent.
3. Nod off with ease
A [study](
https://books.google.com.au/books?id=Kkts3AX9QVAC&pg=PA66&lpg=PA66&dq=orgasms+stress+study&source=bl&ots=3f4uuHOU4j&sig=nYZccPCNut_Kn6Mp86n-pqBAVOI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Fb5zUvuFMorJsATg2oCABQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=orgasms%20stress%20study&f=false|target=”_blank”|rel=”nofollow”) of over 1,800 US women found that a whopping 32 per cent used masturbation as a tool to help fall asleep.
This is because climax sparks the release of a chemical cocktail made of oxytocin, prolactin and vasopressin, all of which are hormones that actually induce that content and sleepy feeling.
4. Fall pregnant
While it isn’t imperative to the success of conceiving, scientific evidence suggests that the uterine contractions associated with climax can actually assist sperm on its journey to fertilising an egg.
A small-scale study from the University College Cork has found the chances of falling pregnant to be 10-15 per cent higher in women who reach the big ‘O’, compared to those who don’t.
5. Trim your waistline
While it’s obvious that the act of sex with a partner would indeed help burn calories (207 per 30 minutes to be exact), reaching climax has also been found to curb appetite.
A study with mice found the release of oxytocin that follows an orgasm can help shift motivational behaviour from a desire to snack, to a desire to reproduce.
