At some point most people will enter a dry spell in their sex lives, where they go quite some time without having intercourse. If you find yourself in a period of abstinence, you might be wondering how it can affect your health. Some of the problems you might encounter when you abstain from intercourse for a long period of time are:
1. Loss of libido
Some people have low levels of testosterone, which can cause them to lose their sexual drive and interest in having sex. This is especially common in people who have been taking antidepressants or sleeping pills for many years.
If you haven’t had sex for a long time, it’s important to tell your doctor or gynecologist if this happens to you. They can check your hormone levels and prescribe medications if they think this is necessary.
2. Infection
Intimacy can increase your risk of getting an STI (sexually transmitted infection), such as gonorrhoeal or chlamydia, so abstaining for several months may make it more likely that one will develop if you had an infection before starting your abstinence program.
3. Getting pregnant after stopping contraception. When menstruation stops and there has not been another method used like condoms, pregnancy is possible within the first few months after stopping birth control pills or other hormonal birth control methods. However, since most women ovulate around day 12-14 after starting the pill, there will be enough estrogen in her system.
4. Immune system
Regular intimacy improves the immune system and prepares the body to fight off illness by releasing endorphins. This means that having sex less often might result in more frequent illnesses, like the cold or flu. A study reported that saliva samples of college students who had regular sex were found to have a higher concentration of certain antibodies called immunoglobulin A, which fight the common cold.
5. Cardiovascular health
If you do not have intimacy on a regular basis, you are at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease. In addition to being a source of exercise, sexual intercourse helps keep your estrogen and progesterone levels in balance, which can lower your risk of heart disease.
Source: Operanews
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