Researchers at the University of Paisley
have found that
sex can help lower stress and make
public speaking a speech a
simple task.
In a
study published in New Scientist
journal (2007), Professor Stuart Brody explains how having sexual intercourse
can reduce the high stress levels and increased blood pressure associated with
public speaking. However, this is only applicable to who
perform full,
penetrative sex with another person and, disappointingly, the trick does not
apply to those who enjoy a little “self gratification”.
In the said study, which included 24 men and 22 women, each respondent was
asked to keep a sex diary, and each was made to perform stressful including
giving a speech in public and performing mental arithmetic out loud.
The results from the study indicated that those that had the most penetrative
sex proved to have significantly lower levels of stress than others who
indulged in other sexual acts such as masturbation. On the other hand, the
completely non-indulgent respondents were found to be the most stressed and
presumably envious of their sexually active counterparts.
Despite these observations, however, there is no apparent scientific
explanation behind this seemingly
calming effect. It is known that the vagal
nerve is known to play a role in psychological processes and the hormone
oxytocin, released during orgasm, may have a calming effect on the brain. In
any case the good news is that a
greater frequency of intercourse has long been
associated with greater benefits, so there really is no excuse for prudishness.
So, if speaking in public speaking gives you sweaty palms and a dry mouth, a
shag may just be the way to calm your nerves.
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