If you're employing the old, "Not tonight honey, I have a headache" excuse for getting out of sex with your partner, you may want to reconsider. Even if you're not in the mood to get frisky, you may just want to do the deed anyhow in order to boost your memory.
While many claim all clear thinking goes out the window when it comes to doing the horizontal mambo, a variety of studies have proven that having sex leads to sharper memory. Let's hope the sex is good, or else you'll wish your memory wasn't getting better and better with each roll in the hay.
A recent study conducted by scientists at McGill University in Canada found that young women, ages 18-29 who engaged in "traditional intercourse" have an easier time remembering things than their less sexually active peers. However, this applies to recollection of words, not faces, due to changes in the hippocampus area of the brain where neurogenesis was improved. Nervous tissue grew, creating better memory.
As per Jens Pruessner, a psychology professor at McGill Univ., "The chemicals involved with signaling reward to the brain — hormones and neurotransmitters — have been shown to be associated with both memory and sexual activity." And guess what? Similar findings were seen in other species of the animal kingdom. Let's hope Jeopardy doesn't start allowing rabbits to compete!
And the memory boost isn't just for the younger set. Another study conducted by The Manchester University looked into the sex-memory link in participants aged 58-98. The findings showed the more sex they had, the better brain power. So don't give up on nookie once AARP comes calling. You may not want to remember that your sex partner is geriatric, but feel confident that you'll actually be able to.
The next time you think your new partner has been "around the block" more than he or she'd care to admit and claims they can't remember how many people they've slept with, don't believe a word of it. Granted, they may not have a clue what the guy or gal looked like, but they haven't forgotten, especially if their "number" is well into the double digits.