Got some public speaking to do? Here’s a tip to keep stress at bay:
have sex beforehand. But make sure it’s penetrative sex - the magic
vanishes if you pursue other forms of sexual gratification.
Stuart Brody, a psychologist at the University of Paisley, UK,
compared the impact of different sexual activities on blood pressure
when a person later experiences acute stress. For a fortnight, 24 women
and 22 men kept diaries of how often they engaged in penile-vaginal
intercourse (PVI), masturbation or partnered sexual activity excluding
intercourse. After, the volunteers underwent a stress test involving
public speaking and mental arithmetic out loud.
Volunteers
who’d had PVI but none of the other kinds of sex were least stressed,
and their blood pressure returned to normal faster than those who’d
only masturbated or had non-coital sex. Those who abstained had the
highest blood-pressure response to stress (Biological Psychology, vol 71, p 214).
Brody
also made psychological measurements of neuroticism and anxiety in the
volunteers, as well as work stress and partnership satisfaction. Even
taking these factors into account, differences in sexual behaviour
provided the best explanation for the range of stress responses. "The
effects are not attributable simply to the short-term relief afforded
by orgasm, but rather, endure for at least a week," says Brody. He
speculates that release of the "pair-bonding" hormone oxytocin between
partners might account for the calming effect.