Well guys, this is it. Fall reading week is over. The constant shuffle of final essays, readings, and prepping for exams that is November is upon us.
Sorry for the reality check. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but maybe there’s something we can do about all the stress this time around.
A lot of things fall to the wayside when we get stressed, like seeing friends and hitting the gym, but what happens in the bedroom? According to a blog post by Dr. Mehmet Oz, we have less sex when we’re stressed, and it’s really not doing us any favours.
I’ll admit it. When I’m stressed out and grumpy, my bedroom activities typically include pyjamas, some tea, and five episodes of whatever’s new on Netflix. Who wants foreplay when you can have flannel pjs?
Although that can be nice sometimes, it’s not actually doing you any good. Sex can be a great stress management tool, and it’s one that students really need to start using.
Sue McGarvie, founder of the Ottawa Sex Therapy and Libido Clinic, is here to help. Finding the mood and energy can be tough, she said, but it does have its benefits.
“A majority, but not all, women need to be de-stressed in order to have sex. That’s why women like holiday sex so much,” McGarvie said.
The chemistry of why sex helps lower stress is a little convoluted. Although your body does produce cortisol (a stress hormone) during sex, studies have shown that more sexual encounters led to a decreased cortisol production over time. So really, more sex now means less stress later.
Who doesn’t love that science?
But what to do when you’re home and you just can’t stop seeing piles of readings everywhere? If home is too full of work to be done, McGarvie said that there are a few different things you can do to get your mind off school.
“A different location—outside, or a cheap hotel room—can help ramp up the mood and cause women to stop thinking about their to do list and get in the moment,” she said.
Stress can cause problems for men between the sheets, a little known problem that has big consequences, McGarvie said.
“Men find sex a great way to blow off steam, unless the stress is magnified to the point that they have erectile dysfunction—yes, even at 20,” she said.
“Every year I have at least a couple of students show up who have lost their erections and are freaking out,” she said. “Often it’s during exams and instead of sex being a stress reliever the erectile dysfunction causes it to feel like gas on a fire.”
McGarvie said the important thing to remember here is to do what makes you feel good.
“Even being physical in other ways is a great alternative if you just really don’t have the energy,” McGarvie said. “It’s also okay to feel that sleep, a massage, or just light petting may be a great alternative to performance sex if you are tired and overwhelmed with midterms.”
If you can’t put aside that paper for another hour, no one can blame you. But if you feel like a study break, sex could be a great alternative to the usual procrastination traps.
School’s going to be getting busy, so you should too.
More sex may not help you finish those assignments, but it might just help you hold on until Christmas.
