# Does no sex/lots of sex affect a person's health? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 1, 2003, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-no-sex-lots-of-sex-affect-a-persons-health/185482 "2003-07-01T01:46:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skillet38](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Skillet38](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skillet38)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-no-sex-lots-of-sex-affect-a-persons-health/185482/21 "2003-07-02T23:27:43Z")
Lets face the facts. Sex = good No Sex = bad hey, that would make a great poster ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-no-sex-lots-of-sex-affect-a-persons-health/185482/22 "2003-07-03T02:04:18Z")
I wish I had saved some e-mails from the health aide in my dorm last year. She was of the opinion sex was very good for both reducing stress and as a source of exercise- it’d be better if I could quote some of her messages. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-no-sex-lots-of-sex-affect-a-persons-health/185482/23 "2003-07-03T02:33:41Z")
Here’s a cite about sperm as an antidepressant: [http://www.salon.com/sex/feature/2002/06/19/semen/](http://www.salon.com/sex/feature/2002/06/19/semen/) The bit about cohabiting lesbians not experiencing menstrual synchronicity is intriguing, too. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-no-sex-lots-of-sex-affect-a-persons-health/185482/24 "2003-07-03T04:15:01Z")
> [@](#): > > The bit about cohabiting lesbians not experiencing menstrual synchronicity is intriguing, too. That’s because [menstrual synchrony is a myth](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/021220.html). ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-no-sex-lots-of-sex-affect-a-persons-health/185482/25 "2003-07-05T16:03:59Z")
Posted by **Evil Captor:** > [@](#): > > Here’s a cite about sperm as an antidepressant: > > [http://www.salon.com/sex/feature/2002/06/19/semen/](http://www.salon.com/sex/feature/2002/06/19/semen/) All glory to **Evil Captor!** Posted by **Marley23:** > [@](#): > > I wish I had saved some e-mails from the health aide in my dorm last year. She was of the opinion sex was very good for both reducing stress and as a source of exercise- it’d be better if I could quote some of her messages. It would be better still, **Marley,** if you could provide us (that is to say, me) with her current address and phone number. Here’s an aspect nobody has addressed yet: What about teenagers? Even today, it is generally assumed in America that as a matter of public policy, sexual activity by minors should be, if not forbidden, then very much discouraged. High-school condom-distribution programs exist but they’re alway controversial, and defended as a concession to necessity: The kids are gonna do it anyway, better they don’t get in trouble. But **nobody** ever comes out and says: It’s better for teenagers to be fucking than not fucking. It’s unhealthy for them to keep their virginity past a certain age. Is this a defensible position, or not? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-no-sex-lots-of-sex-affect-a-persons-health/185482/26 "2003-07-05T16:41:03Z")
You might want to check out a GD thread that’s going on, “A Modest Proposal for Sex Education,” which is about the wisdom of teaching teenagers that it’s all right to masturbate. You can link to it at [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=194252](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=194252) . There’s an obvious connection between that thread and this one: Leaving aside the risks of pregnancy, disease, etc., what is the **healthiest** option for teenagers: Fornication, masturbation, or no sexual release at all? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-no-sex-lots-of-sex-affect-a-persons-health/185482/27 "2003-07-05T19:47:54Z")
Teenagers should be encouraged to masturbate all they want so long as they keep it discreet. But they should only be allowed to have sex if they demonstrate an ability to practice safe sex and birth control, and also keep their rooms clean and help out around the house. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-no-sex-lots-of-sex-affect-a-persons-health/185482/28 "2003-07-05T19:49:23Z")
> [@](#): > > But they should only be allowed to have sex if they demonstrate an ability to practice safe sex and birth control How do you demonstrate that? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-no-sex-lots-of-sex-affect-a-persons-health/185482/29 "2003-07-05T20:12:05Z")
In GQ? We don’t. Does there remain a General Question here? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-no-sex-lots-of-sex-affect-a-persons-health/185482/30 "2003-07-05T21:58:15Z")
Yes, **manhattan,** the General Question is whether sexual behavior can affect a person’s health for reasons unconnected with disease or pregnancy. While this is bound to be a focus for controversy, it is at bottom a purely factual, scientific question. And we really haven’t answered this question yet, we’ve just tentatively groped towards an anwer. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-no-sex-lots-of-sex-affect-a-persons-health/185482/31 "2003-07-05T22:13:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Marley23 \* > \*\*How do you demonstrate that? :eek: \*\* You have completely missed the subtlety of my response. Demonstrations will never be necessary, because _even the possibility of SEX will not make teenagers keep their rooms clean and help out around the house!_ ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-no-sex-lots-of-sex-affect-a-persons-health/185482/32 "2003-07-06T11:59:58Z")
Lack of sex may be symptomatic of a lack of any long term relationships. Lack of such is lonely, frustrating and stressful, especially if those around you have what you don’t ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Pixelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ad7895/32.png) [@Pixelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixelle)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-no-sex-lots-of-sex-affect-a-persons-health/185482/33 "2003-07-06T16:26:47Z")
The effect of no sex/lots of sex on a person’s health would most likely be determined by how the person feels about the situation. What affects the mind in turn effects the body. If a person likes the idea of celibacy, they’ll be happy and if anything, it would have a positive effect on their health. On the other hand, being forced into celibacy by circumstances rather than by choice, can be very stressful for some people. As with anything that causes too much stress, it’s detrimental to one’s health in the long run. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-no-sex-lots-of-sex-affect-a-persons-health/185482/34 "2003-07-06T17:52:42Z")
[Quagmire] Oh _yeah_! [/Quagmire] ---
**Author:** ![vix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a88e4f/32.png) [@vix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vix)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-no-sex-lots-of-sex-affect-a-persons-health/185482/35 "2003-07-06T21:05:08Z")
One health risk for sexually active women is [bacterial vaginosis](http://familydoctor.org/handouts/234.html). That cite doesn’t say so, but I believe it’s more commonly caused by sex without condoms. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-no-sex-lots-of-sex-affect-a-persons-health/185482.md?page=1)