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Sex can become a pleasant addition to regular physical activity, but it can’t replace even a light aerobic workout, and it only indirectly affects immunity.
By feelings, sex does indeed seem similar to an aerobics exercise: you move around, breathe heavily, feel a warm sensation spreading throughout your body, and ultimately experience a pleasant tiredness. But feelings can be deceptive. Let’s turn to the facts and look item by item.
Pulse
Aerobic exercise is not called “cardio” for nothing. Its goal is to increase the frequency of heart contractions to force the body to get energy for the muscles by oxidizing glucose and fatty acids. To do this, you need to accelerate your pulse to about 85% of your maximum frequency (it is calculated using the formula: 220 minus your age) and maintain it at this level for about 5 minutes. During sex – even in the most intense phase – the pulse rarely exceeds 130 beats per minute. In terms of “cardio,” this is a light load, usually requiring 40-80 minutes of exercise. The intense phase of sex lasts an average of only 6 minutes. But if you think your pulse is higher during sex, put on a tracker and check yourself.
Breathing
During sex, it does increase, but not as significantly as it seems. The consumption of oxygen during this time is on average not higher than 3.5 MET (a unit of energy expenditure – metabolic equivalent of task, determined by the ratio of oxygen consumption to body weight). To make it clear: during intense aerobic exercise, this rate is 8.5 for men and 8.4 for women. But the main thing is that the increased breathing during sex is usually not due to physical exertion. In fact, the reason is sexual arousal and the release of hormones (such as adrenaline). On the same principle, you start breathing heavily, sweating, and experiencing various sensations (tingles, heat or shivers) when you are worried. To be scared or excited is not cardio.
Muscular workout
During aerobics, the main muscle groups are actively loaded. Sex cannot be compared to running or swimming in terms of the number of muscle groups involved and the range of movements. In some positions, sexual activity is even close to relaxation. The feeling of fatigue after sex is not due to muscle tension, but due to the release of the hormone prolactin, which causes drowsiness. By the way, that’s why sex can be a healthy alternative to sleeping pills.
Calories
According to a study, in 30 minutes of sex, men burn up to 101 calories and women burn about 69.1. Is it a lot or a little? For the same amount of time, at an average pace on a treadmill, participants in the same study spent 276 and 213 calories, respectively. In the most active phase of sex, energy expenditure can be similar to a walk with a light climb, but this phase is too short to affect overall calorie expenditure. It is also important to consider the age of the study participants: all of them were under 25 years old. In other age groups, the results may vary greatly.
Immunity
Aerobic exercises definitely boost the immune response (nearly increasing the concentration of lymphocytes in the respiratory tract by 10 times). Sex is not so straightforward. Scientists admit that sex can indirectly affect immunity by stimulating sleep, which depends on the state of the immune system. There is evidence that people who regularly (1-2 times a week) have sex have a higher level of immunoglobulin A in their saliva: antibodies that can neutralize viruses that have entered cells. But researchers did not take into account other possible factors (such as the overall level of physical activity), so the information is currently uncertain. Interestingly, during the same study, it was discovered that partners who have sex even more often had a lower level of these antibodies. Strange? Not quite, if you consider that these couples were less well-off. This means they are subject to chronic stress, which suppresses immunity. Scientists have hypothesized that for these couples, sex is a way to compensate for problems in relationships (sex, like massage, reduces the level of the stress hormone cortisol).
Conclusion
Sex can relieve pain and stress due to endorphins, strengthen intimacy due to the hormone oxytocin, and help you fall asleep due to another hormone, prolactin. However, sexual activity cannot replace physical exercise for you, although it has one irrefutable advantage: 98% of participants in a running track survey admitted that having sex is much more enjoyable than running. And pleasure is the best motivation.
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