How A Healthy Sex Life Improves Your Mood

Sex may still be a somewhat "taboo" subject, but it is essential for both mental and physical health, as we shall see. Sex - with or without a partner - has a number of benefits. For one, it feels great, and it has an amazing finish. But maintaining a healthy sex life is about more than just chasing after momentary pleasure. It improves our mood and our overall well-being.

We all have needs that we have to satisfy in order to live a happy and healthy life. If some of those needs aren’t met, we can push through for a while. However, if this situation persists, we’ll quickly see consequences both physically and mentally. 

Now, when we say “needs,” most people think of shelter, food, and water. And although those are essential, we also have some other needs. For most people, a healthy sex life is vital for both their physical and mental health. In fact, sex and masturbation are natural mood boosters. But how exactly can they make our days better?

Serotonin

Nowadays, a lot of people deal with low serotonin levels. Serotonin is one of the balancing chemicals that our brains use to regulate our emotions, mood, metabolism, and bodily functions. It even affects our social behavior. When there’s enough serotonin, we sleep better, are in a better mood, socialize more, and are usually even more interested in sex. 

On the other hand, there is a strong connection between low serotonin and depression and anxiety. Of course, both of those conditions are more complex than that. Still, we can safely say that people who are feeling down have low serotonin (and dopamine) levels. 

And so, having frequent sex or masturbating to completion can boost our serotonin levels, which affects the mood instantly and in the long term. After orgasm, our brain gets flooded with serotonin, which helps us feel more relaxed and happy as well as fall asleep faster. 

Considering that depression and anxiety have symptoms such as bad memory, mood swings, low mood, erratic behavior, low desire for socializing, and exhaustion, it’s logical that a boost of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that’s in charge of balancing a lot of those symptoms can help with both conditions. So, having a healthy sex life can help us when we’re experiencing symptoms of depression or anxiety. It won’t cure us, of course. But it can significantly improve our mood and behavior.

Lower Stress

Because we get a boost of the “happy” chemicals during sex and masturbation, they can help us relieve stress. The endorphins that our brain releases after an orgasm help lower our overall stress level. And, because we’re relaxed after an orgasm, our bodies get a short reprieve from the constant tension that we’re experiencing during periods of high stress.

That’s why it’s good to maintain a healthy sex life even when you’re busy or stressed. Even masturbation can be largely helpful there. If we’re experiencing a period where we’re feeling stressed every day (and sometimes all day), it’s good to set some time aside once in a while to relax.

Now, this relaxation can include some ordinary pastimes (like watching a show or socializing), but it should also include activities in the bedroom that allow our bodies to loosen up. If we don’t have a partner (or even if we do), masturbating can help us relax, take a breather, and allow our body to let go of the constant stress. 

If simple masturbation doesn’t sound as exciting as a roll in the sheets with a partner, we can always employ some smart sex devices, such as male masturbators. They’ll make the entire experience more pleasant and relaxing. And if you’re really in the mood to chase stress away with something exciting, you can even try a blowjob machine!

Lower Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is the silent killer. Or, rather, not so silent, considering that more than 68 million Americans suffer from this condition. However, over 20% of people with high blood pressure aren’t aware of it. Therefore, they can’t really do much to improve their situation. 

We all want to keep ourselves healthy for as long as possible. Luckily, a healthy sex life can really help us do that. Sex and masturbation can help lower blood pressure, sometimes even more effectively than medication. 

So, if you’re worried that you’re in that 20% of people with high blood pressure who aren’t aware of their problem, you can preemptively start to masturbate or have sex more frequently. It’s kind of like killing two birds with one stone, given that sex and masturbation have numerous health benefits.

The more frequent your orgasms, the lower your overall blood pressure will be. Not to mention, if you have acute blood pressure issues caused by stress, you can also benefit from having more sex. As has already been mentioned, orgasms are great when it comes to helping us lower our stress levels.

Sleep

We’re all well aware that we fall asleep more easily and quickly after sex. That’s due to the increased serotonin. The chemical boost that follows an orgasm allows our body to relax more. However, that’s not all.

After we get the “happy chemical” boost, our brains produce even more chemicals. One of those is prolactin. That particular chemical is in charge of making us sleepy and relaxed. 

The common stereotype is that men fall asleep as soon as they are done having sex while women like to cuddle after. Although that is the case sometimes, in reality, both men and women experience a boost of prolactin production after an orgasm. It’s our body’s way of signaling that we should give it a rest (quite literally). So, it’s normal that we all doze off after having sex or masturbating. 

As a nice bonus, sex also helps us wake up more well-rested and refreshed. That’s because our sleep patterns after a roll between the sheets are more regular. We experience deep sleep more frequently during the night and, due to that, rest more. 

A Self-Esteem and Happiness Boost

It might sound silly to mention this, but sex with and without a partner can help us feel better about ourselves. When we have sex and experience the high that follows (thanks to the “happy chemicals”), we feel better in general. But we also feel better about ourselves.

Going through a dry spell isn’t the worst thing that can happen to us. However, when we don’t have a healthy sex life, we can start to feel bad about ourselves. Our self-esteem plummets, and we feel unattractive.

Having frequent orgasms can counter that. Not only do we feel happier, but our bright mood also affects how we perceive ourselves. Plus, we’re happier when we have regular sex, which means that people will perceive us as more positive. That reflects in their behavior towards us, which, in turn, affects our overall self-image.

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