Science Says Meditation Can Help You Have Better Sex, So Find Your Inner Peace Stat
I have a very difficult time falling asleep and actually managing to stay asleep throughout the night. I've tried everything from drinking herbal teas before bed to taking an Advil PM to forcing myself to read a book that will lull me to sleep. Nothing worked. In fact, the only thing that did help was the one thing I avoided trying all along: meditation. Now, I meditate every night before bed and sleep better than ever, It turns out, meditating can do more than just put me to sleep. According to a new study, meditation can improve your sex life, too.
Yep, that's right. You read that correctly. Time to start downloading Headspace on your phone and/or booking a session at your local InScape. Meditation not only will make you generally a happier, smarter, and more well-rested person, according to Psychology Today, but it will also help you get it on. BOW CHICKA WOW WOW.
Well, before you start getting too excited, let me clarify something. The study, published in the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, only explored the relationship between meditation and female sexual tendencies. As an avid meditator myself, I'd still recommend guys try it out as well, but I can't promise it's going to rile you up sexually quite like it does for females.
In order to conduct the study, researchers commissioned 450 women between the ages of 17 and 70. Once they agreed to the study, the women were asked all sorts of questions regarding their experiences with meditation, sexual desire, bodily awareness, health, and mood.
Almost half of the women (193, to be exact) polled in the study admitted that they regularly meditate. These women also happened to score higher in the realms of sexual function and desire. The best part? The study found that it didn't make a difference how long or how often they've been meditating. As long as they had meditated in some capacity, the results showed improvement in their sex lives. That means, in theory, you could literally download a meditation app on your phone right now, do one session and consider yourself one step closer to a better sex life. (No guarantees on that, though.)
So just how, exactly, will your sex life be improved through meditation? Well, there are four areas that will be benefitting greatly, according to the researchers. Study co-author Lori A. Brotto, a professor at the University of British Columbia, told PsyPost, “In particular, our findings show that women with meditation experience have higher scores related to arousal, lubrication, orgasm and desire than women with no meditation experience.” So... you could be more turned on, get wetter, more likely to orgasm, and you have more sexual desire? Literally what more could you ask for?
In explaining the link between meditation and an improved sex life, the study pointed to the fact that women who meditated were more mindful. This is important because their "mindful personalities" lead directly to their "improved sexual function and sexual desire." Basically, you're in a better mood and you're more aware of the feelings and sensations you're experiencing, so you're having better sex. Also, I mean, sex is obviously going to be better if you can manage to be totally in the moment and present while it's happening.
Now, trust me, I'm fully aware of how hyped up meditation is in this day and age. I'm also fully aware of how inherently annoying anything with hype is. But why not give something a shot if it means you'll be happier, smarter, and, most importantly, having better sex? Sounds like a pretty sweet deal, if you ask me.
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