With Valentine’s Day on the horizon we thought we would look at the interplay between our relationships – both emotional and sexual - and our overall health. While the path of true love (or whatever you called the pursuits of youth…wild oats and all that…) was rarely smooth, it is fair to say that aside from the odd awkward encounter in the early days, sex and romance was something we enjoyed, sought out and certainly couldn’t imagine losing interest in.
So just how well do our relationships and sexual activities serve our longevity and wellbeing as we move through the decades, and does advancing age impinge upon one of our most basic human instincts?
A 2007 study titled Negative Aspects of Close Relationships and Heart Disease, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that marriages and close friendships that were plagued by negative episodes such as conflict and adverse exchanges increased the incidence of heart disease developing within 12 years by 34%. This dropped to 25% when other contributing factors such as depression were taken into consideration.
None the less, the quality of our intimate personal interactions clearly has profound effects on our long term health; and regardless of how we appear to cope mentally and practically (putting on a brave face), inside our heart may literally be breaking.
The following study specifically links happiness to our sexual habits. Conducted by Dr Adrienne Jackson, the study took the survey responses from 238 married individuals during 2004 – 2008, and found that regular sexual activity was a major predictor of participants overall happiness – both with life in general, and with their marriages. 60% of people who had sex once or more a month were very happy with life and 80% of this group also said they were very happy with their marriages. Only 40% of people who had not had sex in the past year said they were very happy and 59% said they were very happily married.
Clearly there is a significant link between good health, happiness and our intimate relationships. As discussed in my Depression article published in About Health’s Beacon Newsletter in August 2011, an Australian study showed that major depressive disorder (MDD) preceded just over 80% of cardiovascular disease (CD) in the study participants. This indicates that MDD leaves us vulnerable to CD and therefore, compromised health and wellbeing.
So by being happy we improve our health; and a regular, satisfying sex life is one of the things that can bring us happiness. But what about the matter of diminished sexual functioning and desire that seems to increasingly affect us as we age?
In a study of sexuality and health among older adults published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007, researchers found that sexual activity did indeed decline with age (largely due to the hormonal changes that take place as we age), and that about half the men and women studied reported at least one bothersome sexual problem. Despite this, only 38% of men and 22% of women said they had discussed these problems with their health professional.
Interestingly, the people who described their health as poor were less likely to be sexually active, and while women tended to present with complaints about the subjective quality of their sexual experiences, such as lack of desire, men more frequently were concerned about a specific response – such as erectile dysfunction (ED). ED is the inability to maintain an erection in order for satisfying sexual intercourse to take place – we must note that the popularity of medications such as Viagra bears testament to the interest in and importance of an active sex life for our aging population. For women, the most prevalent sexual problems were lack of desire, difficulty with vaginal lubrication, and the inability to climax. Certainly a women’s interest in sex is known to wane around menopause – the declining estrogen levels can decrease the thickness of the vaginal wall, causing discomfort during intercourse. In addition to using a good quality lubricant, a topical estrogen cream applied locally can improve the integrity of the vaginal wall – speak to your doctor about this option.
The use of antidepressant medications can also affect the pleasurable experience of sex for some people, and the prevalence of these types of drugs is quite literally leaving people high and dry. It is all quite thought-provoking when you start thinking about health and happiness. Why stay in an unhappy situation when it most likely is going to shorten your life-span?
Further statistics tell us that women in unhappy marriages are 2.9 times more likely to need heart surgery or suffer a heart attack than women without marital stress. While married men have always tended to live longer than their wives or unmarried men, more recent data tells us that both married women and men are now living longer than their single counterparts.
This begins during the 40’s age-group, and peaks around the 70-84 year bracket when single people die at nearly twice the rate of married people. All in all it seems that happy relationships equal a healthy mind and body.
Our advice to you this Valentine’s Day – spend it with someone you truly care about; someone who makes you happy. You know who those people are.
