What are the health benefits of sex for women?

Updated October 2024 | 5 min read
Expert contributors Dr Vijay Ramanathan, senior lecturer, University of Sydney’s Westmead Clinical School; Lauren Muratore, accredited psychosexual therapist
Words by Sabrina Rogers-Anderson

While sex plays a part in most people’s lives, did you know it can help protect your heart, boost your mood and help you live longer? You don't even need a partner to reap the benefits. 

Science shows that sex has a host of potential benefits for your body and mind. While this may come as welcome news to people in committed relationships, those who don’t have partners or experience sexual difficulties might feel like they’re missing out.

But the real definition of sex – and who it involves – might come as a surprise. Here’s what you need to know about harnessing the health benefits of sexual activity.

What do we mean by the term ‘sex’?

When we think of sex, most of us picture sexual intercourse between two people. But there are a wide range of activities that fall under the umbrella of sex, and they all offer physical and mental health benefits.

“Outercourse includes kissing, touching, caressing, massaging, looking at each other and appreciating each other,” says Dr Vijayasarathi Ramanathan, senior lecturer in sexual health at the University of Sydney’s Westmead Clinical School.

The main sex organ is the brain, the largest organ in the body is the skin and the strongest sensation in the body is touch.

“When you combine these three together, which happens in most forms of sexual activity, you tend to feel aroused and it feels enjoyable,” says Dr Ramanathan. “That's how the benefits of sex start to be felt.”

You don’t need to have traditional intercourse to reap the health and wellbeing rewards, it can be much simpler than that.

“The media portrays sex in a very specific way where we tend to idealise performance,” says Dr Ramanathan. “But just being naked next to each other and feeling that body warmth has so many emotional, physiological and relational benefits.”

And it’s not just a young person’s game, even people in their 80s and 90s may still have the desire for touch known as ‘skin hunger’.

“While their bodies might not work the way they did 40 years ago, their skin and brain are still there, so we need to recognise older people as sexual beings,” says Dr Ramanathan.

Another myth about sex is that it always involves two people, sex can be just one person on their own or with more than one person.

The health benefits of sex for women

Research has shown that sex has a wide range of benefits for our health, and Dr Ramanathan points out that it’s no different than any other form of physical activity.

Over the past two decades, studies have found these benefits include:

• improving women’s heart health
• boosting the immune system
• reducing headache and migraine pain
• improving sleep quality
• reducing the risk of prostate cancer in men
• improving cognition
• increasing longevity
• boosting mood.

As well as this, Dr Ramanathan says sex can also help relieve the stress we experience in our day-to-day lives.

“When you get aroused and get a sense of pleasure, neurotransmitters [including oxytocin] are released in the body that can calm you down and make you feel relaxed,” he says.

How to improve your sex life

If you’ve been in a committed relationship for a while and are feeling disconnected from your partner, it doesn’t mean the spark is gone forever. Accredited psychosexual therapist Lauren Muratore has three tips to help you reignite your passion and maintain it in the long term:

• Talk it out: “Never stop talking about intimacy,” says Lauren. “Use ‘I’ statements and put positives first. Listen to your partner with interest rather than judgement.”
  
• Expand your definition of sex: “Take the pressure off,” Lauren advises. “Pleasure encompasses much more than genital-related touch.”
  
• Prioritise intimacy: “Even if that means planning it,” she says.

How menopause affects sexual health and sex drive

During menopause, women face hormonal changes and symptoms like anxiety, body confidence issues and low energy. It isn’t realistic to expect a woman experiencing those kinds of symptoms to want sex, says Lauren.

“Body changes can also affect a woman psychologically and lower her libido. Being less lubricated and experiencing pain can also cause a woman to want sex less,” she says.

At this phase in life, she adds, it’s important to look at the relationship factors that could be impacting intimacy, especially if the relationship has been a long-term one that has navigated many life phases.

So, how can you overcome sexual difficulties and increase your sex drive during perimenopause and menopause? The first step should be to discuss your symptoms with your GP.

“You can also focus on what you want intimacy to look like during this life stage,” says Lauren. “It doesn’t have to be what you’ve historically done; it’s a great time to change the script to increase pleasure that is particular to you.”

To learn more about managing sex and relationships during menopause, listen to episode three of our Menopause Matters podcast, hosted by Alison Brahe-Daddo, Menopause and your sex life: Reclaiming your relationship.

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