Having sex at least once a week may be one of the factors that increases the life expectancy of men to 80 years, according to Taiwanese researchers.
Scientists conducted a study, the results of which showed that a man only needs to have intimate relations at least once a week to increase his chances of living to over 80 by 50%. Regular exercise of this kind reduces the risk of death from stroke by 50%, from diabetes by 40%, and from heart attack by 30%.
A comparative analysis of the life and death ages of elderly men revealed that those who remain single are more likely to die much earlier than their happier counterparts. If a man loses his wife or partner at age 65, his likelihood of dying before his 80th birthday increases by 70%.
The reason for this is testosterone levels, which affect the entire body. The lower the levels of this hormone in a man's body, the higher the likelihood of death from the aforementioned diseases (this was demonstrated by a study of 800 men aged 50 to 91).
But sex is beneficial for men. For women, it's not quite so simple. A group of German scientists found that, oddly enough, regular sex has a negative impact on life expectancy in women: it causes hormonal changes, often unfavorable ones, while regular sex is beneficial for men.
According to scientists, unmarried women who had never even cohabited with a partner reported better mental health, unlike single men, who felt better when they had a woman by their side.