Updated on July 17, 2024.
Orgasm, climax, the big O—whatever you want to call it, if you have orgasms, you’re probably a big fan. Orgasms can make you feel good, but what you may not know is that regular orgasms may help boost your health in a variety of ways.
Research on the topic is not definitive. Despite the near universality of sex across the human experience, it’s not fully understood whether orgasms promote good health or whether good health promotes having orgasms—or a little of both. But some research suggests they may reduce stress levels and boost your mood, improve your sleep, keep certain muscle groups strong, and even bolster your heart health.
Whether you achieve them from sexual intercourse or from masturbation, here are four ways orgasms can help improve your health, plus four ways to make more time for sex to help you live a long, fulfilling life.
Orgasms can help reduce stress
During orgasm, your body releases several key hormones. These include:
- Dopamine, considered a “feel-good” hormone
- Endorphins, which help reduce stress, enhance feelings of well-being, and may help ease feelings of pain
- Oxytocin, considered a love and bonding hormone that promotes feelings of closeness as well as relaxation
Together, these hormones can improve mood and help ease stress, while reducing the effects in the body of cortisol, a hormone the body releases in stressful situations.
The big O may help you sleep
If orgasms can contribute to relaxation and ease stress, it’s not surprising that they may facilitate better sleep. A 2023 study published in the Journal of Sleep Research found that partnered sex that results in orgasm may help people fall asleep more quickly and have higher quality sleep. (The study authors reported that the same was not true for partnered sex without orgasm, however, or for masturbation with or without orgasm.)
Authors of a different study published in 2019 in Frontiers in Public Health reported on the results of a survey showing that people perceived orgasm—both with and without a partner—to be helpful for falling asleep and having higher quality sleep.
Orgasms improve the strength of your pelvic muscles
Women and people assigned female at birth who have had delivered a child may find that their pelvic floor (the muscles around the vagina, bladder, and anus) can weaken.
One small 2022 study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine found that participating in penis-vagina sexual intercourse was an effective therapy for strengthening the pelvic floor muscles. This is likely because of the muscle work involved in sex: The muscles in the genitals and anus automatically contract many times during and after orgasm, about once per second.
Orgasms may help keep your heart strong
Sex can increase your heart rate and cause you to break a sweat, so you might think that it’s a good form of exercise. If so, it would be good for your heart, just like a jog or a bike ride.
In reality, sex falls under the category of mild exertion, at best (sorry, calorie-burn-counters). A brisk walk would be more healthful from a cardiovascular perspective, as it’s considered a moderate intensity exercise.
But orgasms may still have heart benefits through other channels. Levels of oxytocin rise in the body during and immediately after orgasm. Oxytocin doesn’t necessarily benefit your heart directly, but it does help by lowering blood pressure and easing stress and anxiety. It can also help the body lower inflammation related to other issues, such as digestive problems, difficulty processing blood glucose (as in prediabetes and diabetes), and elevated cytokine levels. (Cytokines are proteins in your immune system that contribute to inflammation.)
But is having sex even safe if you have heart disease?
The good news is that it’s unlikely you’re at risk of having a heart incident during sex. That said, people with unstable heart conditions like arrhythmia or uncontrolled high blood pressure (hypertension) should be cautious and consult with their healthcare provider (HCP) about how to safely enjoy sexual activity.
4 ways to keep your sex life going strong
The easiest and most direct way to enjoy the benefits of orgasms is to practice masturbation. That way, you can control the timing and pacing of how you experience pleasure.
If you are in a partnered relationship, there are also ways to enhance the benefits of sex. Whether you’re having frequent sex already or you want to rekindle your sexual well-being, here are four ways embrace a more active love life, from sexual health specialist Samantha Tojino, DNP, a doctorate nurse practitioner with Augusta Anti-Aging Medicine in Evans, Georgia.
Shoot to have sex once a week or once every two weeks
Every couple has different schedules and needs, so there’s no set number on how often you should be having sex. But if you’re working hard to have more sex, aim for once every week or once every two weeks, says Tojino.
Don’t forget to cuddle
Whether cuddling happens throughout the day or as a precursor to sex, it can be an important part of intimacy.
Remember that cuddling doesn’t always have to lead to sexual activity. Try incorporating more snuggle time during Netflix sessions on the couch or right before bed as you wind down and relax.
Plan a date night
If you plan a special night out or at home, it doesn’t have to be extravagant. “A date night can just be in the bedroom where you shut the door for alone time, or if the children are gone, it’s just a time you can make things interesting,” says Tojino.
Have romantic foods like chocolate-covered strawberries or experiment with toys if those are things you both enjoy, she adds.
Get creative
“I like to tell my patients to create a fantasy box where they can put in three benign fantasies and draw one out per week,” says Tojino. The fantasy could be something as simple as a new position and location (somewhere other than the bedroom) or something as creative as roleplaying. If you draw the fantasy out at the beginning of the week, you’ll have a whole week to plan for fantasy night on Friday or Saturday.
“It creates anticipation for both parties, knowing that something new and exciting is coming at the end of the week,” says Tojino. Just make sure you’ll both enjoy the activity.
