Sex and Health Benefits!

Anytime I go to login to my email account, I always check out the yahoo articles to see what is new and interesting.  I happened on this article about 7 health benefits of sexual intercourse.    So besides being an intimate bonding time with your spouse, you are getting some wonderful health benefits, too!  Here are some of the health benefits:

1.  Sex = exercise: your burning calories!

2. Sex keeps you looking younger: I would want to see more proof on this one, but if it is true, ladies, could this be our fountain of youth?

3. It’s good for your heart: wanna lower your blood pressure?  want a better chance of not having a heart attack?  sex can help!

4. Sex boosts immunity: immunoglobin A is produced more often which helps your immune system. It would be interesting to see if I get less colds and sinus infections, since immunoglobin a (igA) works with your nose, eyes, ears, digestive tract and vagina to protect those areas from outside foreign substances.

5. It can cure the common headache….kind of: Intimacy and bonding helps you to relax, and oxytocin is released during sex which helps decrease pain.

6. Sex gets the blood pumping: sex increases blood flow which gets oxygen molecules moving through out your body and you feel better.

7. Sex helps you sleep better: oxytocin not only can help decrease pain and increase endorphins, but it relaxes you so you can sleep better.

Do you think any of these hold water?  I think these can offer some of these benefits, but I am not trying it out on my next sinus headache to see if it works!  🙂  What other benefits do you think sex has on your physical health?

November 10, 2011
Categories: Our Bodies, Women's Issues . . Author: spicynutmeg . Comments: 6 Comments

Weekly poll #120: Were you referred to our site through the CN facebook page?

November 8, 2011
Categories: Polls . . Author: spicynutmeg . Comments: 11 Comments

Chapter 8: Lord, Take Me Deeper in Your Word

“There is no way to draw closer to God, to have a clean and right heart before Him, or be a forgiving person, or walk in obedience to His ways, or take control of your mind, or stand against the enemy, or make Jesus Lord of your life unless you are in the Word of God every day.  It’s your compass.  Your guide.  You can’t get where you need to go without it”. ~ Stormie Omartian, Power of a Praying Woman.

This chapter came in the nick of time.   It’s the best chapter for me by far in this book.  It’s the one that God knew I needed to hear the most.   He knew that I would have an “a ha” moment this week when I read this chapter.   He’s right.

I am the world’s worst at reading my bible.  Well, that’s not an entirely  true statement.  I do read it in church, at bible study or Sunday school.   But on my own, I don’t make the time to read it.   I guess that makes me a really sad, pathetic example of a Christian.  I have good intentions.  Really I do.  I just don’t follow through.

I think that the biggest message I pulled from this chapter was in the last paragraphs of the chapter before the prayer.    She talks about in her early days as a Christian, how she suffered from depression and anxiety.   That’s me.   There are some things about life that are so overwhelming to me right now.  But I read these words from Stormie… “All it took was reading the Bible for a few minutes, and I would feel calm and hopeful again…. It leads us away from self-destructive thoughts and enables us to enjoy a sense of well being.  It gives us hope and keeps us on course.”  As soon as I read that, I LONGED for that.  I longed for peace.   I longed to not be anxious anymore.  I longed for the symptoms of depression to GO AWAY.  It’s incredible for me to find out that she experienced that once and the Word of God made it go away.   I definitely need that.

I have decided that I need to print out and post in my office at work her “Ten Good Reasons to Read God’s Word.”  Right now #1, #3, #6, #7 and #9 sound good to me.   I am sure I need all of them, but I am willing to start these one at a time.

Great chapter!  What did you glean from it?  How does the Word of God help you?  Are you faithful in your reading?

November 7, 2011
Categories: The Power of a Praying Woman . . Author: spicynutmeg . Comments: 3 Comments

Sentence Starters

Finish the following sentence in the comment box:

.

My man has to be the world’s best husband when it comes to __________.

.

November 4, 2011
Categories: Sentence Starters . . Author: cumingirl . Comments: 26 Comments

Q&A: Erotica Vs. Real Touch

I think I have started confusing erotica online with real touch. I find myself loving the idea of sex but not the act itself. Me and my husband used to have a okay sex life, but now that I am feeling this it has gone way down. I just want to know if there is anyway I could just forget everything I have learned about sex, and start over? And if it’s more complicated than that, what steps can I take to get back in touch with him?

I loved this question. I thought it was so honest and I could relate to the struggle of sometimes choosing the “easy” way to arousal by using external stimuli. I think for many women we find that our minds are very connected to our arousal. For some of us it’s not enough to just be physically stimulated and we need to actively engage our minds in the process, too.

I think this woman asks an important question. After getting used to outside influences causing arousal, is it possible to retrain our brains and, if so, how do we do it? I’d love to hear your own insights in the comment section after I share mine here. I do think it’s possible to retrain our brains and I believe that much of the success of the process depends on how helpful our husbands are and how honest we are willing to be with them and ourselves. It takes a lot of self reflection to learn why we do what we do. What the motivators are that cause us to make the choices we make in our sexuality will be the start to getting free from habits and mindsets that limit our sexual pleasure in marriage. So honest prayer and introspection is key. Here are some of the important questions to ask ourselves in this process, and you could apply these sorts of questions to any sexual temptation you are encoutering:

  • What kinds of erotica am I drawn to online?
  • What is it about those things that makes me feel sexually excited?
  • Does part of me feel aroused because it feels like naughty sex?
  • Does my husband know that I get hot by the idea of this in bed?
  • How could I bring that arousal into the reality of our sex life?
  • Does married sex have any negative associations for me?
  • Has our culture’s voice saying “Sex goes down hill after you’re married” taken root in my heart in any way?
  • Other questions?

In many cases you will find that one of these questions stimulates another question. That’s great. It may help you to journal or map out your thoughts as you consider and pray about how these kinds of questions have influenced your sexuality. And if you can be honest with your husband the two of you can work together to build true erotica in your sex life. If this isn’t something the two of you have discussed before, the context with which you establish the initial conversation can significantly influence his response. Compared these two statements,

“I don’t like this about our sex life and I am bored in bed. What do you want to do about it?”

“Hey babe. I am so excited to see us become even better lovers to one another. I really want to see our sex life on fire. Can we talk about how the two of us could make that happen?”

Which one would you respond better to? Such a different tone in the two statements! How easy is it to bring the positive, proactive, same-team mentality into the conversation rather than the negative one? It just takes a change in your heart and then the good that is in your heart will flow out.

In the Bible in Romans 12:2 it says to not conform to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. It goes on to say that in doing this you will be able to know what God’s will is. His good, pleasing and perfect will. How do you think this portion of scripture might relate to the issue we are discussing? Please feel free to continue this discussion in the comment section. I am certain you have further insights on the issue.

November 3, 2011
Categories: Q&A, Spices We Leave on the Shelf: Sexual Boundaries . . Author: cinnamonsticks . Comments: 8 Comments

Survey Opportunity

We have given permission for the following request to be published on our blog.

Hello Christian Nymphos readers!

My name is Kelsy Burke and I am a graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh. I am conducting research for my dissertation that explores how Christians use the Internet to talk about issues related to sexuality. If you are 18 years or older, I’d like to ask you to participate in my study by completing an online questionnaire.

You don’t need to disclose your real name, and no identifying information will be recorded. Your participation is completely confidential and after you submit your responses, they are stored securely in a password protected database. There are no risks or benefits for participating in this study.

Here are the details:

The questionnaire will take you about 15 minutes to complete and will ask you basic demographic questions (e.g. age, race, marital status, education). It will also ask you questions about your religious affiliation and participation, Internet use, sexual practices, and sexual attitudes.

Here is the link to the questionnaire. In order to access it, you’ll need to enter the access code: intimacy

* * * * *

I would also like to conduct one-on-one online interviews with C.N. readers who complete the questionnaire. If you participate in an online interview, you will be compensated with a $20 Amazon.com gift certificate.

The interview will last between one and two hours and will take place at a time that is convenient for you on a secure instant messaging forum that is accessible only with a password. I will ask you a series of open-ended questions about how you use the Internet to find resources about sexuality and a few questions about your beliefs about sexuality and your religious faith.

If you are interested in participating in an online interview, please email me at kburke.research@gmail.com or contact me via my website after completing the online questionnaire.

I’ll look forward to hearing from you!

Kelsy

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This research study is being conducted by Kelsy Burke, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Pittsburgh. It has been approved by the University of Pittsburgh Institutional Review Board and is being overseen by Distinguished Professor and Chair of Sociology at the University of Pittsburgh, Kathleen Blee. For more information about Kelsy, check out her website, www.kelsyburke.com.

November 2, 2011
Categories: About the Blog . . Author: cinnamonsticks . Comments: 5 Comments

Weekly poll #119: What is your favorite book of the Bible?

post your answer in the comment section.

November 1, 2011
Categories: Polls . . Author: spicynutmeg . Comments: 21 Comments

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