The View from the Bay panel's top 5 reasons to have sex:
- An emotional connection with your partner.
- It is a stress reliever.
- To induce a speedy labor and delivery.
- Use it or lose it.
- The credit card bill is due.
- Shag your guy's ticker into shape. According to a study at Queens University in Belfast, men who have sex three or more times a week can cut their risk of heart attack in half.
- According to that same study, regular romps will also halve your man's chances of suffering a stroke.
- Work off that Rice Krispies Treat without hitting the treadmill. One 30-minute roll in the hay burns about 200 calories.
- Curb irritability. "Tactile stimulation soothes nerves," says Evelyn Resh, M.P.H., certified nurse midwife and director of health services at Canyon Ranch spa in Lenox, Massachusetts.
- Kick colds to the curb. Researchers at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania found that having sex once or twice a week boosts the immune system by 30 percent.
- I Skip the Botox. In his book, Secrets of the Superyoung, neurophysiologist David Weeks, M.D., of Scotland's Royal Edinburgh Hospital, writes: "An active sex life slows the aging process."
- Get more z's. A little sensual massage followed by some dancing in the sheets releases sleep-inducing endorphins.
- Wake up and smell the roses. Post-romp, you'll experience a surge in the hormone prolactin, which develops new neurons in the brain's olfactory bulb, improving your sense of smell.
- Watch a Lost DVD marathon without constant bathroom breaks. Sex tones the pelvic muscles that support your uterus, bladder, and bowel, meaning better pee control.
- No pain, all gain. Right after your big O, you'll be practically swimming in oxytocin (we're talking a seriously intense surge). The overload releases endorphins, which help alleviate pain from arthritis and -- hallelujah! -- menstrual cramps.
- Put more pep in your step. Rhode Island-based relationship expert Scott Haltzman, M.D., says that women absorb some of the testosterone men secrete in their ejaculate. The payoff: "The increased testosterone can have energy-boosting effects in women."
- Blow him away in your bikini. According to researchers, regular shagging can tighten your tummy...and firm your bum.
- Aunt Flow, we meet again. Endocrinologists at Columbia and Stanford universities found that women who have sex at least once a week have more-regular menstrual cycles than those who do it once in a blue moon.
- Forget flowers and the flat-screen: Sex is an easier (and cheaper) way to make up after a fight.
- Improve your communication skills. Speaking up about what's working (or not) in the sack can help you express yourself in other parts of your life.
- Sex can trigger the onset of labor when you're at term. "Semen contains prostaglandins," Resh says. "When they're against the cervix, prostaglandins help it dilate and induce natural labor."
- Getting busy on the regular can improve your flexibility.
- Love the skin you're in. For some people, gettin' busy can boost body image, Resh says.
- Yes, tonight, honey--I have a headache. Recent studies have shown that doing the horizontal hustle can bring temporary headache relief.
- Add your share of smut to the girls' night cocktail chatter. Even bad sex is fun to dish about.
- Use it or lose it. Says marriage therapist Michele Weiner Davis, author of The Sex-Starved Wife: "The more you have sex, the more likely you'll be to continue to produce testosterone, one of the primary hormones responsible for sexual desire."
- Give your guy a helping hand. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, the more he ejaculates, the less likely he is to develop prostate cancer.
- Strengthen your core -- it's like Pilates without the annoyingly perfect instructor.
- "Increase the amount and quality of cuddle time," says psychologist Laurie Mintz, Ph.D, a professor at the University of Missouri. "The best comes immediately after the orgasm."
- "Good sex creates more love each time," Mintz says. "That's why it's called 'making love.'"
- Best excuse in the world for pricey, pretty, frilly, silky lingerie.
- Two words: "I'm preggers!"
- Feel the power. "When things go well in the bed and you're pleasing your partner," says San Francisco sex therapist Sandor Gardos, Ph.D., founder of MyPleasure.com, "you feel more confident and powerful in other parts of your life."
- Activate your taste buds. "Your sensitivities are heightened after sexual intercourse," Gardos says. "That bottle of wine or chocolate bar will taste even better."
- Stir creative juices. "When people are together long-term, sex can become boring," Resh says. "Coming up with new ways to keep things interesting improves the imagination."
- Seriously pissed? Instead of screaming your head off, save your voice and have sex. It's a great way to release tension.
- Take him to your level. According to family therapist Michael Gurian, author of What Could He Be Thinking?: How a Man's Mind Really Works, the one time a man's oxytocin level can match ours is after his happy ending.
- Vitalize the vag. Increases in blood flow to the pelvis keep the oven in good order, says Lana Holstein, M.D., managing director of sexuality programs at Miraval Resort.
