Maintaining healthy sexuality is integral to your overall well-being. Having satisfying sexual experiences on a regular basis provides you with many health benefits, both physical and psychological. Studies have shown that sexual satisfaction is a predictor of overall life satisfaction; in particular, sex life and job satisfaction are closely linked. It’s also very important for maintaining a good romantic relationship, with other studies pointing to sexual satisfaction as a predictor of overall relationship satisfaction.
Benefits of Sex
Orgasm releases a variety of feel-good chemicals into your brain and body. A couple of these include dopamine, which produces a feeling of reward, and oxytocin, which promotes emotional bonding and reduces stress. These hormones explain why sex makes us feel better about life even once we’ve left the bedroom. A good sex life can even lower your risk of depression and anxiety.
A satisfying sex life can also help you perform better during stressful situations. In 2005, British scientists tracked volunteers’ sexual activity for two weeks and put them through stressful situations, including public speaking and doing math problems out loud in front of an audience. They found that those who had more sex in the past two weeks did better during the stressful tasks.
Sex Life and Job Satisfaction Are Linked
All the various parts of your life are linked in ways you wouldn’t expect. The lowered stress levels and increased feelings of well-being that you get from a good sex life influence many other spheres, including your career. Research has found that sex life and job satisfaction are connected.
A study conducted at Oregon State University and published in the Journal of Management examined data from 159 married adults with jobs. The researchers surveyed the participants about their sex life, their mood and their behavior at work for a period of two weeks. The results showed that having sex increases your job satisfaction and influences how engaged you are at your workplace. This link between sex life and job satisfaction is relevant for many of us, given that about half of all employees are unsatisfied with their jobs, according to a 2016 survey.
Why Are You Sexually Dissatisfied?
Despite the benefits of sex, many of us aren’t having enough of it. Or, the sex we are having doesn’t satisfy us. There are several distinct reasons why a person may be sexually unsatisfied, and identifying the source of the dissatisfaction is a necessary first step in solving the problem.
Growing older can bring with it various physical ailments, including bodily changes that influence our sex drive and our ability to have satisfying sex. After menopause, which occurs at around age 50, many women experience a decreased libido, vaginal dryness or other symptoms that interfere with good sex. Men, too, can suffer sexually at the hands of aging. Testosterone levels drop with every decade, decreasing libido and weakening erections. Erectile dysfunction is another age-related sexual health concern.
You don’t have to be middle-aged or a senior to experience low libido. It can happen at any age and is a very common reason why one may be sexually dissatisfied. Plus, when you’re in a committed relationship, your partner may grow to be dissatisfied as well due to your low sex drive.
Boredom and monotony also decrease sexual satisfaction. Even if the sex itself is good, if you do the same things every time it won’t produce that same spark after a while. Many couples who are monogamous with each other for many years find that this can be the case.
Achieving a Better Sex Life
So, how can you get a great sex life and reap all the benefits of sex? Achieve better mental and physical health and feel happier at your job by removing any obstacles to sexual satisfaction. Maintaining optimal physical health, keeping things interesting and taking a supplement or two are usually all you need to achieve peak sexual satisfaction.
If your decline in sexual satisfaction is age-related, there are a number of steps to take. Taking up regular exercise including cardiovascular exercise as well as strength training can improve your physical stamina, making sex easier on your body. This is important because muscles grow weaker as you age, so you must counteract this with exercise. It also has the added benefit of improving circulation, which makes it easier to get aroused. This means that regular exercise can improve sexual satisfaction at all ages.
The hormonal changes that come with older age can be remedied with natural supplements that contain ingredients known to support healthy hormonal balance and sexual health. These may include zinc to boost testosterone, L-arginine to improve blood blow and Panax ginseng and maca root to boost sex drive. In particular, maca root is great because not only does it increase libido for both sexes, but it also helps to relieve symptoms of menopause. Just as with exercise, these scientifically proven supplements can help people with low libido regardless of age.