GETTY Sex and dementia: Having a healthy sex life could help brain health

Getting frisky between the sheets could benefit your brain health, according to a Coventry University study. Older men who enjoyed regular love-making showed signs of a healthier brain. In particular, they were able to recall lists and recognise patterns.

GETTY Older men could benefit from intimacy between the sheets

The research team quizzed 6,800 people aged 50-89 from across England. They were asked about their sex lives and set a number of mental tests. Participants were played a list of ten words and asked to recount them after five minutes. They were also given a number sequence with one number out of place and asked to correct the pattern.

GETTY Men who had a better sex life demonstrated better cognitive function

The men who were sexually active scored 23 per cent higher on the word tests and three per cent higher on the number puzzles. But it wasn’t just the men who benefitted from a healthy sex life. Sexually active women also scored higher on the tests. Researchers believe sex hormones, like dopamine and oxytocin, which are linked to the part of the brain responsible for reward, could help cognitive function.

GETTY This is just one of many studies suggesting lifestyle factors play a key role in preventing dementia