Yes! Yes! Yes! Regular sex and orgasms can help you live a longer, healthier, happier life, according to recent research. It's true: rather than curling up with a good book, a little horizontal exercise could be just the thing to beat stress, fight off a cold or cut your risk of stroke. Here are 10 very good reasons to dive between the sheets...

By Jane Murphy

If you're having trouble nodding off at night, the solution could be lying right next to you (or... erm... sitting in the top drawer of your bedside cabinet). Oxytocin - the hormone released during sex or orgasm - acts as a natural sedative, so helps you relax and drop off into a deep slumber. And it's a tried-and-tested method: in a US study, 32% of the 1,866 female respondents who reported masturbating in the previous three months said they did so to help them sleep.

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Sex may increase blood pressure in the short term - but in the long run, it reduces it, so lessens your risk of heart disease or stroke. A study published in medical journal Biological Psychology found that regular sex between cohabiting partners was associated with lower diastolic blood pressure - that's the lower number that shows the reading when your heart is resting. And here's one to tell Him Indoors: another study reported in the British Medical Journal found that men who have sex twice a week have half the risk of heart disease than those who only have it once a month.

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You don't have to be swinging off the chandeliers to burn calories - but the more energetic you are, the more benefits you'll see. A 30-minute sex session will burn around 100 calories or more - as well as tone up your stomach, bum and thighs. Sex also boosts production of the steroid hormone DHEA, which boosts fat metabolism. A study at Washington University School of Medicine found that women who were given DHEA supplements lost 10.2% of their body fat.

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Regular sex or orgasms helps raise your levels of an antigen called immunoglobulin A, which is the body's first line of defence against colds and flu. It works by binding to bacteria that invade the body, then alerting the immune system to destroy them. Scientists at Wilkes University in the US found that people who'd had sex at least once or twice a week had higher levels of this bacteria-basher than those who had sex less often.

A fulfilling sex life makes you feel more confident about your body - and about life in general. In fact, one of the main reasons people have sex is to boost self-esteem, according to research collated by the University of Texas. 'Regular, satisfying sex can boost a woman's emotional health in so many ways,' says Dr Pam Spurr, author of Sex Dreams and Symbols (Connections, £8.99). 'The production of oxytocin during sex or masturbation helps create a deep sense of emotional wellbeing.'

As you get older, your pelvic floor muscles tend to weaken, causing problems such as urinary incontinence and reduced sensitivity during sex. The solution? Do a few exercises - known as Kegels - when you're in the throes of passion, simply by tightening your pelvic floor muscles around your partner's penis for two or three seconds then relaxing. It'll increase sexual pleasure in the short-term - and strengthen those muscles over time. Genius!

Got a throbbing head? Leave those painkillers in the bathroom cabinet and try a quick fumble beneath the sheets instead. The reason? It's all down to good old oxytocin again: as levels of it surge, feelgood endorphins increase, which in turn encourages pain to subside. A study published in the Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine found that inhaling oxytocin vapour more than halved the pain thresholds of 48 volunteers.

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Yes, really. Think about it: staying home for a spot of how's-your-father? is a lot cheaper - and almost definitely more enjoyable - than splashing the cash on going out. What's more, regular orgasms can help you get on top of work and money worries - simply by reducing stress levels. A study of 46 men and women, published in Biological Psychology, found that those who had a fulfilling sex life had much better responses to stressful scenarios such as public speaking or doing verbal arithmetic.

It goes without saying that a fulfilling sex life will do wonders for your relationship - but there are scientific reasons for this that go beyond the obvious. High levels of oxytocin increase our desire to nurture, bond and communicate with other people. Various studies have shown that when couples go without sex for long periods, their relationships decline in general. However, it's worth noting that any kind of intimacy can be just as beneficial as full-on sex: simply giving your partner a hug can boost oxytocin levels, too.

'Research shows that regular sex promotes longevity,' says Dr Pam. 'Those who enjoy a fulfilling sex life through their 50s, 60s and beyond live for a couple more years on average than those who aren't sexually active.' Want more proof? A recent survey by the American Association of Retired Persons found that almost half of those in the over-50 age group who described their health as excellent or very good had sex at least once a week.

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