A new study finds frequent sexual activity may improve brain function in older adults

According to the universities of Coventry and Oxford, more frequent sex increases the ability of the brain in older adults. Researches say that the people indulged in sexual activities more often, scored higher in their tests which measured their ability in verbal fluency, visualizing the objects and the spaces between them.

There are 73 people who aged between 50 to 83 are observed for the concern. Participants had to fill in a questionnaire that on an average count and how often they had engaged in sexual activities for past 12 months whether that was never, weekly or monthly as well as questions related to general health and their lifestyles.

45 women and 28 men took part in this test which was typically made to measure the brain function depending on the factors such as fluency, memory, attention, language and visuospatial ability. And as a result, it was found that people engaged in sexual activity on a regular interval, scored highest on verbal fluency tests showed the strongest effect.

Research also concluded that the frequency of being involved in sexual activity is not related to the language, attention and memory.

The researchers in future could look at how the biological factors such as dopamine and oxytocin could impact the relation between sexual activity and brain function to give full finding and explanations on the same.

Lead researcher Dr Hayley Wright, from Coventry University’s Centre for Research in Psychology, Behavior and Achievement, said ”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 sexual activity and cognitive function in older people.”

“People don’t like to think that older people have sex — but we need to challenge this conception at a societal level and look at what impact sexual activity can have on those aged 50 and over, beyond the known effects on sexual health and general wellbeing.”