Become A Genius: Have More Sex

Have More Sex: Get Smart

You have heard of “smart sex”, but how about “smarter because of sex”? Maybe nerds and geeks are smart for other reasons. Maybe they’re smart because they have more sex than might be appreciated. A recent study from Amsterdam (no surprise there) showed that having more sex can make you smarter. Maybe that’s the secret of nerds and geeks. And, you thought they just studied more.

The Amsterdam study showed that those who were sexually aroused performed better on tests of critical thinking. Sexual gratification seems to stimulate brain growth. More sexual pleasure means more smarts. But, you may not want to share this with your teen-age kids.

Stress reduction and release of neurotransmitters during sex like serotonin and dopamine may play a role behind these findings. Our previous post, Just Say “Yes” To Sex (and Reap Its Health Benefits) discussed the many health benefits of sex including the release of neurotransmitters that affect energy and mood. It makes sense that any thing that improves energy and mood has the potential to make us smarter.

It’s been known that stress hinders brain cell growth. Cortisol is the main stress hormone and plays havoc on our minds and bodies. It robs us of important nutrients and depletes our neurotransmitters and sex and other hormones.

Researchers from Princeton University sought to find if pleasure activities might have the opposite effect and enhance brain growth. They performed a study on rats (some say there isn’t much difference between the brain of rat and that of a man) and compared sexually active rats to virgin rats.  They found that the sexually active rats grew more brain cells with an increased in the number of connections between brain cells, too. The more neural connections the more powerful the brain.

Other studies showed that college students who have more sex have higher brain activity than sexually less active students.

Semen has been shown to have anti-depressant properties (women who engage in unprotected sex have less depression) and positive mood enhancing effects as it contains neurtransmitters.

Sex: Smart Mind – Strong Body

Sex just may be the perfect exercise providing health benefits to the body while strengthening the mind. Now you can say, “Honey, it’s time to make me smarter.”  The next time you’re tempted to call your spouse, or boyfriend or girlfriend a dumb@*#, just remember you may be partly at fault.