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Bed boogie, knock boots, shagging, rumpy pumpy, horizontal tango, whoopee, hanky panky, boink, roll in the hay, boom boom, home run – you know what I’m referring to. Even though Valentine’s Day is over, I’m sure we all still have a burning desire in our hearts for a little love and lust – but for this post, I want you to separate the two. We’re going to look at the latter in a different light – sexual activity for health and exercise (aka “sexercise”). Do individuals with healthy sex lives really live longer? Can you really ditch your trip to the gym for a workout in bed? Can people actually die from intercourse? Some risque researchers have set out to find the answers and put these sexy debates under the sheets for good.
Good: Longevity and Hanky Panky
This connection might not just be wishful thinking – a review by Chen, Tan, and Zhang referenced multiple studies that have shown a positive association with sexual activity and lifespan. A part of the Duke Longitudinal Study of Aging included a 25-year trial with 270 subjects that found the frequency of bed boogie as a significant positive predictor of longevity in men (no significant evidence for ladies). A Swedish study followed 128, 70 year-old, married men for 5 years and found that early cessation of the horizontal tango was associated with an increased risk for death, as compared with continuing sexual relations later in life.
Although we can’t make the bold claim that more frequent love-making causes someone to live longer, it definitely gets us thinking about what confounders could be affecting this relationship: Are more sexually active individuals less stressed? healthier eaters? more frequent exercisers (not just sexercisers)? All things to consider…
Bad: Workout vs. Whoopee
Are the two interchangeable? Sorry folks, only in your wildest dreams. The activity level of whoopee is usually compared to other physical activity using the metabolic equivalent of energy expenditure (METs). METs range from 0.9 (sleeping) to 23 (running at 22.5 km/hr) and rumpy pumpy usually averages around 2-4. In terms of pure physical exertion, you might be better off making the bed (3-5), instead of messing it up.
Activities that are comparable in METs to shagging:
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- Walking <2 mph (2)
- Cleaning House (3)
- Light Gardening (2)
- Billiards (2.5)
Activities that have higher METs than a roll in the hay:
- Mowing lawn with hand mower (5.5-6)
- Bicycling at 10-16 mph (6-10)
- Strenuous Hiking (6-7)
- Running at 8 mph (13.5)
Keep in mind that these are generalizations. Energy expended during ANY type of physical activity varies from person to person depending on characteristics like age, weight, height, muscle mass, and lifestyle.
Ugly: Coital DEATH
Death has occurred in instances right before, during, and immediately after sexual intercourse. These happenings are rare, but since we’re talking about home runs, it’s only appropriate to cover all of the bases. Engaging in sexual activity slightly increases heart rate and blood pressure from resting values and therefore, it could be a trigger for heart attack. A review of the literature identified coronary heart disease, engaging in an affair, leading a sedentary lifestyle, and being a male as factors that may increase your risk of death by boom-boom. What may help reduce these risk factors?
- Eat a balanced diet with limited saturated fat intake
- Stick to one sexual partner
- Engage in regular exercise
- Be a female…
Take This to the Mattresses:
Choosing to be sexually active is a serious decision. If you make that choice, then be safe, smart, and responsible – otherwise be abstinent.
Happy Day After Valentine’s Day and TGIF!
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Re: the longevity studies, I also wonder what confounders were controlled for. Erectile dysfunction can obviously limit sexual activity, and is often the result of an underlying condition like cardiovascular disease or diabetes–both of which would significantly increase risk of mortality completely aside from any involvement or not in “hanky panky.”
Excellent point, Lola! That’s exactly why we can’t claim a causal relationship between sexual activity and lifespan – there are obviously many confounders, but the idea of an association is interesting. I would like to see a study tracking participants of similar age, disease status, lifestyle, frequency of sexual activity, longevity, etc. (controlling for as many confounders as we can to see if a legitimate relationship exists between lifespan and “hanky panky”. Many of the studies out there make interesting claims, but as always, future research is needed.
I’m glad the generic “f” word has become so prolific as with many overused words will go partially by the wayside like ” you know”. Thanks for introducing so many synonyms of which this eighty six year old never heard. Use of them made this an entertaining read besides the information. I believe you have aced a creative writing course or it is innate.
Thank you, Virginia! I’m glad I could contribute to your knowledge base, as well as your vocabulary
. Have a great Friday!
Interesting and funny. I thought the use of colloquial synonyms worked well. Thank you Ann.
Seems like the literature you were able to access focussed on heterosexuals? Do we know how the story goes if we include same-sex sex? Is all female delight healthier for example than all other combinations? (I’m wondering about this because some STIs are very unlikely to be passed on from a girl.)
Thank you for your comment Kiya and the great point that you raise here! You’re correct that most of the literature I looked at focused on heterosexuals. Although I can’t make any assumptions, the papers I was looking at mainly considered heart rate when comparing intercourse to physical activity, so I would think that that would translate to same-sex sex as well, but I would like to get my hands on some research to see if that’s really the case.
For longevity, this consideration could raise some interesting insight. I wonder what the results would be when comparing longevity in healthy, age-matched, etc. homosexual individuals with the same frequency of sex as a matched heterosexual individual (aiming to control for as many confounders as possible).
Thanks for getting me thinking!!
Wow, that was an interesting story, I got my friends to read this after I was done. I didn’t know that boom boom could extend your life. I also liked your wide range of vocabulary for sex. I want to know why it effects women less? #SPX9