So what does happen to you and your body when you stop having sex?

According to Sari Cooper, LCSW, a certified sex therapist, some people who refrain from sex begin to feel more sluggish, with less vitality and hunger for sex.

Sari told Reader’s Digest that some of his clients describe the scenario as “out of sight, out of mind”.

But it’s not the same for everybody. Some people begin to find the idea of sex MORE desirable.

Change in libido

You  may feel either a loss of sex drive—or an increase in libido! “For some people who refrain from sex, they begin to feel more sluggish, with less vitality and hunger for sex,” says Sari Cooper, LCSW, certified sex therapist. “Out of sight out of mind is how some of my clients describe the scenario.” Because it’s not on your radar, you may tune out sexual desires; but for others, not having sex could make it even more desirable.

It gets you down

The lack of physical contact sex brings can leave some people feeling seriously down in the dumps.

“When people have sex they’re usually having skin-to-skin contact, and this kind of contact is the first primal way we as humans get comforted [as babies with our mothers],” Cooper explained.

“Sexual connection give partners loads of skin-to-skin caressing and touch, and can help to regulate one another’s moods,” – generally through the release of the feel-good hormone oxytocin.

Thankfully, studies suggest a lack of sexual activity is not going to cause clinical depression.

Your vaginal walls can weaken

This is primarily a problem for women who are going through the menopause.

If you radically reduce the amount of sex you have as you get older, the walls of your vagina thin out and can lead to painful sex when you finally get back into the sack.

As a result, the North American Menopause Society has recommended having regular penetrative sex to help vaginal health during menopause.

Loss of lubrication

If it’s been a while, the vagina can struggle to lubricate itself when you start having sex – again a more common side-effect for older women. It’s down to a lack of the hormone oestrogen.

Worse period pains
Bizarrely, having sex during your period is actually a good way of lessening menstrual cramps.

“The uterus is a muscle and many women will actually have a uterine contraction when they orgasm, which will cause the blood to expel more quickly, which will in turn decrease menstrual cramps,” Dr Streicher said. “Also, there may be an increase in endorphins, which also will help with menstrual cramps.”

You could feel more stressed
For some people, getting jiggy in the bedroom is their way of de-stressing.
If that’s the case, not having sex could cause an increase in your stress level.

You may get less UTIs
So it turns out it’s not all bad news.
Sex is responsible for potentially increasing the risk of recurrent bladder infections due to the spread of bacteria that can occur, according to Dr Streicher.
And the journal American Family Physician stated: “Frequency of sexual intercourse is the strongest predictor of recurrent urinary tract infections.”

You become less intelligent

The University of Maryland and one from South Korea, found that having sex improved their brain function and the growth of brain cells. Much more research is needed, though, before we can say definitely that not having sex means you’re missing out on this mental boost.

“This goes under the heading of ‘interesting preliminary research’, but proves nothing,’” Dr. Streicher says.

Can you vouch for any of these?

Share your comments below.

We may get commissions for purchases made using links in this post. Learn more.