Routine sex can slow the onset of menopause

Although it will definitely come sooner or later, menopause is still a scourge for many women who are starting to enter their 40s. Fortunately, there is good news that shows that having sex more regularly can be one way to slow down menopause. How is the explanation?

Having sex slows the onset of menopause

The news originated from a study by the London College University team published in the journal Royal Society Open Science . This study aims to determine whether the frequency of sexual activity affects the likelihood that a person will experience menopause sooner or later.

The research team analyzed data from 2,936 female participants with an average age of 45 years. Data were collected by interviewing participants about sexual activities that had been carried out during the last six months. Not only penetrative sex, other activities such as oral sex and masturbation were also taken into account in this study.

Other data about the participants' health conditions that might affect hormones such as estrogen levels, BMI, and age at first menstruation were taken into consideration.

As many as 78% of all participants were married or in a relationship, while 68% of the participants lived with their partners. About 46% of participants had entered perimenopause.

Based on data from the first interview, 64% of women admitted to engaging in some type of sexual activity each week.

Researchers returned to conduct follow-up interviews with participants within 10 years of the first interview. In the second interview, the participants' average age was 52 years with 45% of them having experienced menopause.

From there, it can be seen that the results show that women who have regular sex every week have a 28% lower risk of menopause at an early age. Meanwhile, women who had sex every month reduced their risk by 19 percent.

How could that happen?

Megan Arnot, a PhD candidate at London College University who is one of the research team explained, the potential for sex to slow menopause may still be related to the level of energy the body is ready to release when ovulating.

When a woman does not have sex, there is no chance that pregnancy will occur. Ovulation itself is a process that requires a lot of energy so that it may have a deteriorating effect on immune function. When no sexual activity occurs, the body chooses to use its energy for something else.

In essence, the more often someone has sex, the more often their body will be prepared with all the possibilities for pregnancy. Another thing, if someone does it less often, the body's mechanisms that work to make pregnancy occur will not work and will be in a state of inactive.

Should you have sex more regularly in order to slow down menopause?

There are no definite rules about how often a person should have sex. However, a study published in 2015 found that couples who regularly had sex at least once per week had happier relationships than those who were less frequent.

Unfortunately, as you get older, often having sexual intercourse is seen as something tiring. Especially if you and your partner both work or have children, making time for the two of you may be more difficult than before.

Having sex more regularly has been proven to help you slow down the onset of menopause, but this is not the only way that can be done. The above research only shows a link between sex and menopause. Sooner or later menopause is also influenced by genetic factors and your daily lifestyle.

If you want to postpone menopause, you should also make efforts to maintain health such as quitting smoking and eating nutritious foods. Some that are believed to help delay menopause are foods that contain antioxidants and complex carbohydrates that can increase estrogen production.

Remember, menopause is a natural thing that will definitely happen in the future. Regardless of when menopause will come your way, focusing on living a healthy and happy life is still important.

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