You may be able to delay menopause as your sex life

If you are looking for another excuse to be busy with this Valentine’s Day, this is a great excuse: It can delay menopause for a little while.

Researchers at University College London found that women who had sex once a week or even once a day were at a lower risk of entering menopause early than those with lower bedroom activities.

“Our results show that if a woman has no sexual relationship and no chance of getting pregnant, then the body ‘choose’ not to invest in ovulation because it would be meaningless,” said lead investigator and PhD. Candidate Megan Arnot.

The good news for singles is: Gender doesn’t even have to be with another person.

In the United States, women usually begin menopause transition between the ages of 45 and 55, a phase that can last for several years.

This period is characterized by hormonal fluctuations and irregular periods, which often bring uncomfortable symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, vaginal dryness and joint pain.

A woman is considered menopause for 12 consecutive months and cannot get pregnant again. The average age of menopause in the United States is 52.

UCL researchers analyzed data from a U.S. study involving nearly 3,000 women whose average age was 45 years old at the beginning. Most participants had children, married or in a relationship and lived with their partners.

At the beginning, no woman entered menopause, but 46% of women had some symptoms, while 54% were premenopausal and had no symptoms at all.

Over the past decade, participants have been interviewed about their health and lifestyle, including sexual activity over the past six months. “Sex” is broadly defined as intercourse, oral sex, touch, caress, or masturbation.

At the end of the study, 45% of participants entered menopause, with an average age of 52 years.

The researchers found that women of all ages who engage in sexual activities weekly are 28% less likely to enter menopause early than sexual activity less than once a month.

Women who have sex each month are 19% less likely to experience menopause early than those who have frequent sexual behaviors.

These associations remained consistent even after the researchers adjusted for estrogen levels, body mass index, smoking habits, and age for the first menstrual cycle.

The study also explores whether living with a male romantic partner can affect the onset of menopause, and the researchers hypothesized that male hormones may be delayed. However, whether male partners reside in the family or not, they found no correlation.

“Menopausality is certainly a necessity for women, and no behavioral intervention can prevent reproductive cessation,” said Ruth Mace, co-author of the study and professor of evolutionary anthropology at UCL.

“Nevertheless, these results are initial signs that menopause may adapt to the possibility of pregnancy.”

One theory behind it is that the human body prioritizes its ability to invest in energy.

Artnot said that due to reduced sexual behavior, pregnancy is unlikely to be caused, so the body may not find it beneficial to allocate energy to the ovulation process. Instead, it can redirect it to other pursuits, such as caring for family members.

The idea, called the “grandmother hypothesis,” said Arnot, believes that “initially evolved in humans to reduce reproductive conflicts among different generations of women and allow women to increase their inclusive fitness by investing in their grandchildren.”

The researchers also pointed out that previous studies have shown that women have weak immune systems during ovulation. If pregnancy is unlikely, the body may naturally turn off ovulation as a protective measure, which will help protect middle-aged and elderly women from infection or disease.

This study is the first to link the frequency of sexual activity to the time of menopause. While more sexual behaviors may not harm women, aiming to delay onset of symptoms such as hot flashes, their research has not explored specifically. connect.

“The mechanisms of the relationship between sex and menopause are promising ways to future research that can open the door to behavioral interventions,” she said.