How sex boosts your immunity

Can sex protect you from colds? Photo: Getty Images.

Sure, winter has its plus points (chunky knits, crisp morning runs, slow-cooked everything…). But a real season downer? Being the snotty one on the bus in without-a-tissue territory – and you’ve been spotted using your sleeve.

Which brings us to the good news: your ability to swerve colds, coughs et al could lay between the sheets. Rather, what you’re doing on, under and tangled up in them. Mates, meet sex: your ultimate health champion.

The Oxytocin Factor
The other big O, aka the love or bonding hormone, is released through physical contact, sex and orgasm (as well as yoga, massage and birth, FYI). “It’s responsible for that famous post-sex glow and also the sleepy feeling we get afterwards,” says sexologist Juliet Allen. And good zeds support your immune system, confirms the Sleep Health Foundation.

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Sickness Superhero
People who have sex once or twice a week have significantly higher levels of Immunoglobulin A (IgA), which can prevent sickness, according to scientists at Wilkes University in the US. “IgA proteins acts as an antibody, fighting off invading organisms at their entry points and allowing the immune system to destroy them,” explains Allen. Smart.

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A Headache Cure
Noggin’ throbbing? You may not feel like it, but sex could actually soothe a cold-induced headache. The endorphins produced may act as natural painkillers, suggests a study by Germany’s University of Munster, in which some migraine sufferers felt their symptoms eased after a session. Warning: others ended up feeling worse, so see how you get on.

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Not-So-Vicious Circle
It’s often the case that the more nookie you have, the more you want. “When you feel happy and have healthy self-esteem, your desire to engage in intimacy and sex is higher,” says Allen. “This in turn boosts your immunity and overall health.” Case closed.

Juliet Allen is working with HERO condoms, which donates a condom to developing countries for every one sold in Australia.