What does your mobile phone have to do with your vagina? And does sex improve your cognitive wellness? We spoke to sexual health writer Tim Boyer about some weird and wonderful tips that can help you avoid problems in the bedroom as well as ensure that you will “get lucky” tonight.
1. Turn On the Loving By Turning Off Your Mobile Phone: According to sex and relationship expert Laura Berman, ‘Sexual inspiration does not begin between your legs. It begins between your ears.’ And Boyer certainly agrees. ‘Taking your cell phone in bed with you is a big no-no if you want to have satisfying sex,’ he says. ‘Research has shown that rather than the orgasm being the key to sexual satisfaction it’s actually the emotional connection to your sex partner. When you or your partner takes a cell phone to bed, you are connected with everyone but each other. In addition, making the bedroom off limits to your cell phone may be a good idea toward good health in another way. Some reports pose that the habit of carrying your phone in your bra may actually increase your risk of breast cancer.’
2. Having Sex Can Actually Make You Smarter: Boyer details, ‘Research done at Rutgers University found that when women were experiencing an orgasm while being scanned by an MRI, the entire brain was firing much more in comparison to when the women were doing brain boosting puzzles. Researchers believe that the increased firing of neurons during an orgasm brings more blood to the brain and in turn makes the brain healthier and more active.’
3. Sync Your Sexy Time with Your Sleep Cycle: Researcher Jeanne Duffy, PhD, asserts that avoiding sex at night because you are too tired, ‘…may not just be an excuse.’ But why? Boyer explains, ‘Women as it turns out have a sleep cycle that signals their body that it is time for bed (for sleep) a good hour earlier than in men. Therefore, feigning off sex from your partner at night may be more of a biological issue than an emotional one. Interestingly, however, some men have sex even while asleep in a condition known as “sexsomnia.” One solution offered by the director of female sexual medicine at the Academic Urology’s Centre for Pelvic Medicine in Rosemont, PA is if you find it difficult to have satisfying sex at night because you feel too tired to enjoy it, set your clock to wake you up a little earlier in the morning. However, if that is not possible, then make the effort to sneak in some spontaneous daytime sex while the kids are at school, during their nap or during their TV time.’
4. Coffee Can Kick-Start Your Sex Drive: ‘While hormonal research has determined when women are most likely to want to have sex, having a cup of coffee can be all that is needed to get someone in the mood,’ Boyer comments. ‘Studies have shown that when a woman’s “fight or flight” behavioural stimulus is triggered either with a heart-pumping scary movie or exercise, that it is also priming the body for sexual arousal. Caffeine may make a woman feel hotter from the increased heart rate, increased blood pressure and increased blood flow to the genitals that caffeine provides. Furthermore, animal studies demonstrated that giving caffeine to female rats may increase sexual desire as the caffeinated female rats apparently sought out males for some increased copulatory activity. The tip here is to be sure to time your coffee with your aspirations. Caffeine takes about 15 minutes to kick in, and wears off within two to three hours. But don’t overdo the caffeine as too much can suppress your libido as well.’