Well, if women had a scientific reason for having s*x frequently, it is: According to a new research, having s*x at least once a week could slow down the ageing process. Hooray!
A study published in peer reviewed journal, Psychoneuroendocrinology, in March found that women who have regular s*x have longer telomeres – the caps on chromosomes that protect the integrity of the DNA.
That’s a good thing. As you age, your telomeres shorten, and the shorter they are, the more likely you are to develop a degenerative disease and die prematurely.
The study analysed 129 women, and found that those who had s*x at least once a week were likely to have longer telomeres.
This relationship held up even when the researchers took other factors into account, such as stress and the quality of a relationship, which suggests that there’s a strong connection between an active s*x life and longer telomeres.
Longer telomeres could point to longer life, a slowing down of the ageing process, and a reduced risk of degenerative disease. Which all sounds splendid.
But before you get too excited, it’s important to note that the study was pretty small, and that there could be a whole host of other factors coming into ..
Researchers only gathered data on 129 mothers in committed relationships, so there’s currently no evidence of the ‘s*x = longer life’ connection for single women having regular s*x or women who haven’t had children.
The researchers note that the findings are ‘largely exploratory,’ and state that they can only generalise them to partnered mothers in long-term relationships.
It’s also possible that there’s a ‘self-selection bias’, meaning healthy women with longer telomere length may be more likely to have regular s*x, rather than the opposite cause-and-effect relationship.
Basically, a lot more research needs to be done before we can sack medical treatment and bang our way to better health.
But in the meantime, having s*x won’t do much harm. Go for it, if you fancy it.
