Sex makes our days and nights full of sweet joy and excitement, and also relieves stress and anxiety. Of course, sex is the key to ensure the sustainability of human beings. In this article, we put forward a question. "How does sex affect what happens in the brain?"
Sex can affect brain activity, sensitivity to emotions and pain, and even sleep.
As we all know, sexual intercourse will affect the function of other parts of our body.
Recent research shows that this has an impact on the amount of food we eat and heart function.
As reported in Medical News Today, sexual intercourse is regarded as an effective way to burn calories, and scientists are concerned that the result will be loss of appetite.
In addition, a study in 2016 showed that women who had a satisfactory sex life in their later years were better able to manage the risk of hypertension.
Many effects of sex on the body are actually related to the effects of these interests on brain activity and hormone secretion in the central nervous system.
Here, we want to explain what happens to the brain when it is sexually stimulated, and observe how its activities cause changes in mood, metabolism, pain awareness and so on.
Brain activity and sexual stimulation
In both men and women, sexual stimulation and satisfaction will increase the activity of brain networks related to pain and emotional state and compensation system.
Brain and penis stimulation
In 2005, researchers at university of groningen Medical Center in the Netherlands were subjected to positron emission tomography (PET) to observe blood flow in the brains of male participants and genital stimulation of female partners.
Scanning shows that stimulating the erect penis will increase the blood flow of the right posterior composition of the brain and the secondary sensory cortex, and reduce the blood flow of the right tonsil.
Isolation hospital is a part of the brain, which is related to the sensory processing of emotion, pain and warmth. Similarly, the source of the secondary somatosensory cortex is also considered to play an important role in pain coding.
As we all know, amygdala is related to the regulation of mood, the disorder of activity regulation and the development of anxiety.
In the same university, previous studies, which focused on the brain area active in ejaculation, found that the cerebellum plays an important role in emotional processing, and the blood flow will increase.
The researchers compared the activity of cerebellum during ejaculation with the pleasure of stimulating other activities of the brain reward system.
"This result is consistent with the report that cerebellum is active in the process of heroin craze, sexual excitement, listening to music and money reward."
Brain and female orgasm.
In the study of female orgasm published last year, scientists from Rutgers University in Newark observed the brain activities of 10 women during orgasm through self-stimulation and partner stimulation.
The research team found that the "obviously active" areas during orgasm are part of the prefrontal cortex, orbital cortex, insula, frontal lobe and cerebellum.
These fields participate in the regulation of emotion, pain, metabolism and decision-making in many ways. Another study shows that the rhythm and pleasant stimulation associated with orgasm can blur the brain. Adam Saffron, the author of the study, compared the effect of female orgasm on the brain with that of dancing or listening to music.
He said: "Music and dance may be the only things that have close interaction in regulating nerve rhythm, producing sensory absorption and no self."
He added: "That is to say, the reasons why we enjoy sexual experience and the reasons why we enjoy music may be quite repetitive, whether in approximation (that is, the induction of neural confusion) or in the end (that is, combining with choosing a spouse)."
Sexual and hormonal activities.
What does this mean? In essence, this means that sex will affect our mood. Usually good, but sometimes bad.
Making love will secrete many hormones related to feelings. This usually indicates our mood, but there are exceptions.
Sex is repeatedly associated with improving emotional, mental and physical relaxation.
The reason why we are less affected by stress after sleep is that there is a part of the brain called hypothalamus.
The hypothalamus controls the release of oxytocin.
Studies have shown that if the oxytocin value increases, it will offset the influence of cortisol, a hormone related to stress increase, so it can make us feel comfortable.
Oxytocin can not only make us feel comfortable, but also restrain our pain. A study in 2013 showed that this hormone can relieve headaches in patients with chronic diseases.
In the study in 2013, it was found that the endorphin "3-"secreted during sexual intercourse can also relieve the pain related to collective headache.
Does sex also make us feel blue?
Unfortunately, the answer is "yes". Although sex is considered as a natural remedy for depression, in fact, some people report that if they participate in this activity, they will immediately fall into depression instead of excitement.
This is called "post-coital anxiety", but the reason is not clear. A study in 2010 conducted a questionnaire survey on 222 female college students to better understand its impact.
Among the respondents, 32.9% replied that they had negative emotions after having sex.
The research team said that this epidemic may be due to past traumatic events. But in most cases, the reason is not clear, and the biological tendency has not disappeared.
The author wrote: "This has aroused people's concern about the unique characteristics of individuals who can't explain the reasons."
Making love can make you sleep better.
The results show that sexual intercourse can also improve sleep. After orgasm, the human body will secrete more hormone called proloctoin, which is a reliable source and is said to play a decisive role in sleep.
Researchers at Queensland Central University in Australia hypothesized that oxytocin released during sexual intercourse can act as a sedative and make people sleep better.
If men ejaculate, the activity of the prefrontal cortex will be reduced, which is especially good for sleep.
The prefrontal cortex shows the slowest brain wave activity than other areas during sleep, which supports correct cognitive function execution during the day.
Researchers believe that sex can improve the cognitive function of the elderly and protect people from memory loss and other cognitive impairment. The research shows that: "the cognitive function level of older men who are sexually active has improved."
In particular, from the situation of women, active sexual life in old age can maintain memory. This effect may be caused by hormones such as testosterone and oxytocin affected by sexual intercourse.
So, the next time you sleep with a special person, remember that this moment of enthusiasm will cause a nervous explosion, and in the best case, it will produce a special hormonal cocktail to charge the biological battery.
