Most people find sex enjoyable. But did you know that it is also good for your general health? No, not just that little bit of extra cardiovascular work out you get when swinging from the bedroom chandelier, but actual positive effects on your overall health. Thinking of sex as exercise, I’m reminded of a playful term we use in Denmark for sex: sengegymnastik, which can be translated as “gymnastics in bed.” What “regular” sports activity is better than that?

You may already have discovered on your own that sexual release can help people go to sleep. Studies have shown that orgasm causes a surge in the brain chemicals oxytocin and endorphins that may act as sedation. And a colleague of mine, Dr. Carol Rinklieb Ellison, recently found that 32 percent of 1,866 U.S. women who reported masturbating in the previous three months did so to help go to sleep. So it should be no surprise when you and/or your mate find yourself quickly slipping into a wonderfully relaxing sleep right after sex.

Here’s another health benefit: youthfulness. A study conducted over 10 years and involving more than 3,500 European and American women and men looked at various factors associated with youthful appearance. A panel of judges viewed the participants through a one-way mirror and then guessed the age of each subject. Those women and men whose ages were regularly underestimated by seven to 12 years were labeled “superyoung.” One thing these “superyoung” people had in common was an active sex life. While there is no magic pill to keep you forever young, there is a real activity that makes you at least appear a little younger!

Sexual activity not only gets your heart rate up; it also burns calories and fat. Dr. Ellison found that people with active sex lives tend to exercise more frequently and have better dietary habits than those who are less sexually active.

Having sex also can have positive effects on your reproductive health, since frequent sexual activity may enhance fertility. When researchers looked at menstrual cycle variability and frequency of intercourse, they found that regular intimate sexual activity with a partner promotes fertility by regulating menstrual patterns. And the timing of your orgasm may affect the likelihood of conception. Women who had orgasms during intercourse after their male partners’ ejaculation retained more sperm than those who did not reach orgasm or who had orgasm before their partners ejaculated. Sperm retained for 10–15 minutes in the vagina is associated with increased rates of fertilization.

Some of these researchers also found that women who have vaginal intercourse at least once every non-menstruating week had cycle lengths that were more regular than women who had intercourse sporadically or who were celibate. Lesbians also can expect stronger menstrual regularity if they engage in frequent sexual behavior with another woman as compared to being abstinent or only having sex sporadically. And many women have discovered that having sex with yourself or a partner can bring relief from menstrual cramps.

If you want to read a more extensive article on this subject called “The Health Benefits of Sexual Expression,” go to the Planned Parenthood website.

In my next column I will talk about some of the health benefits for men, and how having sex might decrease cancer rates.