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Feeling frisky

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So, sex is good for a lot of of things – intimacy between partners, conceiving a child, passing the time, y'know yourself.

Sure, this is all well and good, but what if we told you that an active sex life could actually make you smarter?

A new study, published in The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological and Social Sciences, concluded that, specifically in older people, regular sex is linked to improved brain function.

Lead researcher, Dr Hayley Wright, said, “Sexual relationships in later life are… not just important for sex per se, [they are] impacting on other factors, in this case cognitive function.”

Researchers form the Universities of Oxford and Coventry asked 73 participants, men and woman aged between 50 and 83, about their sexual activity.

37 said they had sex weekly, 26 monthly and 10 never.

The participant's brain function was then assessed and results showed that those who enjoyed more active sex lives, scored on average two per cent higher in some tasks than those who said they had sex monthly and four per cent higher than those who never had sex.

The study concluded that having regular sex had the greatest impact on visual tests and verbal fluency skills, however there was no real difference when it came to performance in memory, language and attentiveness tests.

The authors aren't sure why the link between sexual activity and improved brain functionality exists, but they suspect that it might have something to do with the secretion of neurohormones such as dopamine or oxytocin that transmit signals in the brain.  

Either way, improved brain power is as good an excuse as any. 

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As of July 1, changes to the General Medical Card Scheme in Ireland meant that the morning after pill became available in pharmacies for women with a medical card, without a prescription.

Considering this change, ellaOne, an emergency contraceptive pill that is available from pharmacies without a prescription, has sought to clarify any confusion which still surrounds emergency contraception.

So, without further ado, here are five things you should know about emergency contraception.

1. There is more than one type of emergency contraception available.

There are two forms of emergency contraception that can be used after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy. These are the morning after pill and the emergency IUD – also known as ‘the emergency coil’.

When it comes to the morning after pill – you have a choice of two different pills – containing either ulipristal acetate (ellaOne®) or levonorgestrel.

You should speak to a healthcare professional about the various treatments available and the differences in effectiveness to ensure you are informed about your options and can make a choice based on what is most suitable for you.

2. You don’t need a doctor’s appointment.

If you need emergency contraception you can head straight to the pharmacy to get the morning after pill after a quick consultation with the pharmacist – you don’t need to get a prescription from your doctor.

However, if you are more comfortable speaking to your GP, it is  possible to go down this route too.

3. It works by delaying ovulation.

The morning after pill does not cause an ‘emergency period’ or an abortion, it actually works by delaying egg release (ovulation).

This means that the sperm waiting in the fallopian tubes will be unable to meet an egg and fertilise it.

This is similar to regular contraceptive pills, which mostly work by preventing egg release. If you are already pregnant, emergency contraception will not interrupt your pregnancy.

4. Your fertility can come back very quickly after using the morning after pill.

Emergency contraception has no effect on future fertility.

It will not protect you from pregnancy if you have unprotected sex again several days after taking it.

If you want to have sex after using emergency contraception, use a barrier method of contraception until your next period.

5. You don’t have to take it the morning after.

Although oral emergency contraceptive pills must be taken as soon as possible after unprotected sex, don’t panic if you haven’t been able to get it immediately.

ellaOne (ulipristal acetate) can be taken within five days (120 hours) of unprotected sex and levonorgestrel containing emergency contraceptive pills can be taken within 3 days (72 hours) of unprotected sex.

Both pills work by preventing or delaying ovulation and must therefore be taken as soon as possible as they are not effective if ovulation has already taken place.

The emergency IUD can be inserted up to five days after unprotected sex or up to five days after the earliest time you could have ovulated.

 

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Forget the pots and potions, we've found the true elixir of life – and it's all about getting busy in the bedroom.

Scientists in California have found that regular sexual intimacy is associated with delayed aging process in women – no really. 

A preliminary study published early this year, found that women who reported having sex during the course of the week tended to have significantly longer telomeres (the protective ends caps on our DNA that that protect the chromosome from fraying), than those who didn't. 

Tomás Cabeza de Baca, lead researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, said: “Based on this body of research, we wanted to explore whether there was a health-enhancing relationship between sexual intimacy, telomere length, a biological index of systemic aging and health.”

“We wanted to examine whether sexual intimacy, within the context of a committed long-term relationship, may offer protective benefits to these markers of general health.”

The study, which looked at 129 women in long-term relationships, found that recent sexual imtimacy was positively associated with two measures of telomere length.

They also factored in  the women's overall relationship satisfaction, perceived stress levels, and partner support.

Of course, this study isn't without it's limitations.

It's quite possible that the women who reported the most sexual activity also just so happened to be the healthiest in the group.

But hey, having more sex aint gonna kill you, so knock yourself out!

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It's a widely known fact that women don't orgasm as often as men through intercourse alone.

And as a result of this, we're often described as complex creatures, when the simple fact is we need more than a few short, swift thrusts in order to climax. It's not exactly rocket science.

And, according to Jannette Davies who recently featured in Channel 4 documentary The Super Orgasm, no matter how eager and dedicated your partner is to you and your needs, if you can't bring yourself to orgasm, it's unlikely your partner will be able to.

Speaking to Marie Claire, Janette, who owns a sexual positivity company called Scarlet Ladies, insists that masturbation and communication is the key to ensuring an orgasm.

"My one piece of advice for women is to get to know your body," she advised when reflecting on the obstacles faced by many women in the bedroom.

"The most important thing is learning what works for you. I understood my body because I masturbated – and that is hands down the reason why I can have multiple orgasms."

We're constantly advised to be open with our partners, but when we don't know how to achieve orgasms by ourselves, this can surely only result in a 'blind leading the blind' exchange.

"Communication is important, but you can’t communicate what you want from a partner if you don’t know yourself," Jannette reminds the public.

For many women, orgasms are as much a mental and emotional process as a physical one, so it's vital you're open to the various processes that go into achieving one.

"I think when you are in denial of any sort or have something that you are holding back it makes it 10 times harder – we all know orgasms are in your mind."

Sounds like it's time to get reacquainted with ourselves…
 

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If you and your partner are hoping to start a family, there's a pretty high chance you have already researched the various external factors in both your lives which may impede progress on the baby front, right?

But did you know that the time in which your partner's head hits the pillow can actually play a part in the likelihood of you conceiving?

According to a recent study conducted in China's Harbin Medical University, men who decide to call it a day before midnight have a better chance of conceiving than their counterparts who are only winding down at 1 or 2 in the morning after a fairly heavy boxset binge.

With the participation of 981 healthy men, researchers investigated the theory that there exists a link between sleep patterns and sperm mobility.

Dividing the men into three groups, researchers instructed the first to go to bed between 8pm and 10pm, the second between 10pm and midnight, and the third after midnight.

In addition to this, they were instructed to set their alarms to ensure a nine-hour sleep, a seven-to-eight hour sleep, or a six-hour sleep, and findings indicated that those who went to bed after midnight or slept for just six hours had lower sperm counts.

After analysing sperm count, shape and motility, researchers established that shorter sleep cycles affected sperm count as they increase levels of antisperm antibody which is a type of protein produced by the immune system known for destroying healthy sperm.

The findings were published in the Medical Science Monitor.

 

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