Sex can help protect against dementia – here’s how much you’ll need to have
SEX can help protect against dementia by increasing blood flow to the brain, boffins say.
For 62 to 74-year-olds the quality of sex and climax was most closely linked to mental sharpness, a study found.
Over-75s, on the other hand, benefited most from romps at least once a week.
Prof Shannon Shen, of Hope College, Michigan, said: “Sex is physical exercise and exercise is linked to better cognitive performance by increasing the blood flow in the brain.
“This may be especially true at older ages because of high rates of sedentary behaviour, so any circulatory benefits from having sex may be important. Although frequency of sex does decrease with age, it may be one way to combat atrophy in the brain.
“It has been shown to be beneficial for a variety of mental and physical health outcomes, including heart health, happiness and wellbeing.”
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Her team studied 1,683 Americans over 62 for five years.
They quizzed them on how often they had sex and how satisfying they found it — and did tests on attention, memory, thinking speed and maths.
Prof Shen said the rush of “feelgood” hormone dopamine on orgasm also shields nerves linked to memory.
Nearly a million Britons have dementia, the UK’s top killer.
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Exercise and socialising, healthy eating and cutting down on booze are known to protect against it.