With World Health Day rolling around again on April 7th 2009, we at DIVA started thinking about healthy activities with both physical and emotional benefits. After compiling an exhaustive list that included jogging and salads, we came to the unanimous decision that the activity that covers both camps nicely is good old-fashioned sex.

So, if you’re pleading headaches every night or saying you’re too stressed to rock the casbah – your excuses are toast because lesbian sex can solve a lot of worries.

Perhaps you come in after a hard day struggling to avoid becoming another casualty of the credit crisis, and your mood’s as predictably grey as the British weather. Maybe the thought of sex with the missus leaves you cold, or it’s becoming the equivalent of a Sapphic Rubik’s cube trying to get the dildo through the harness and the vibrating egg in place, while making sure that everyone involved is having a good time. Fear not – for a good shimmy beneath the sheets can restore your equilibrium and goodwill to all women.

According to Ky Hoyle, managing director and founder of Sh! Women’s Erotic Emporium: ‘Sex is good for you. “Use it or lose it’” is the maxim we should all go by,’ she says, ‘whether it’s solo with your trusty vibrator or together with your for-now or forever partner, sex will keep you feeling emotionally, physically and chemically high.’

Hoyle’s right, and here’s the ‘science bit’ to prove it. A chemical called dehydroepiandrosterone (otherwise known as DHEA) is released upon orgasm. Your body’s natural steroid, it can improve brain and cardiovascular function, help bone growth and tissue repair, balance the immune system, keep your periods regular and sustain healthy skin.
Regular sex also keeps your body buff and, at the end of the day, if your body is a temple, hopefully more sweet, buxom pilgrims will visit it. More fun than going to the gym, sexercise keeps those lovely happy chemicals floating around, making you generally a nicer person to live with.
However, if sex hasn’t been on the menu for a while, keep thinking sexy thoughts because just being aroused releases the body’s natural appetite suppressant phenetylamine. Much more fun than a spin class any day.
Co-founder of online store Exclusively Eve, Chris Birch believes that sex should become part of your five-a-day. ‘With the increase in heart rate and muscle contraction, our bodies naturally release calories from storage to create more energy. This may not be on the Weight Watchers’ programme, but is much, much more fun.’
It’s got to help somewhat, knowing that having a regular session will keep you fit and happy, but what happens if your problems are more than skin-deep?
Paula Hall from Relate reckons that sex is a good thing, emotionally: ‘[Sex] reduces stress, increases self-esteem and improves closeness to a partner. Research has concluded that having a good sex life generally improves our overall quality of life.’ ?
So how can it improve the quality of our relationships and stop us wanting to kill our nearest and dearest? Well it comes in the form of nature’s own version of beer goggles – oxytocin. This is a ‘bonding’ chemical, released when you and your girl orgasm. It encourages feelings of intimacy, trust and togetherness, but don’t worry if you’re currently a bit more Shane than Tasha in your approach to the horizontal samba. According to Hall, ‘Casual sex can be just as caring and intimate as couple sex. As long as you're both happy having casual sex then you'll experience exactly the same benefits.’
Anxiety is one of the major problems we’re all experiencing at the moment. Fretting about your job, your home and the state of your savings, you’re more than ever living off our underused biological relic – adrenalin. When adrenalin is not used up in the body it can manifest itself in anxiety, which presents as a nervous feeling, sweaty palms, upset stomach, headaches, palpitations, hyperventilation and, in extreme cases, full-blown panic attacks. However, one chemical that can relieve these symptoms is serotonin. Isn’t nature clever?
‘Serotonin levels in the brain increase during sex,’ explains Ky Hoyle. ‘Dubbed the feel-good neurotransmitter or happy molecule, serotonin promotes a sense of well-being by balancing moods, aiding sleep and calming anxiety.’
And it doesn’t always have to be full-on, swinging-from-the-chandeliers-style naughtiness, either. According to Chris Birch, ‘Touch is an essential need of all humans. A simple hug or a sensual massage can be a real emotional boost’.
If you’re currently feeling remote from your girl due to stress and anxiety, sex may help pave the way to a happier future together. Catherine Butler, clinical associate at Pink Therapy, says: ‘The emotional advantages to good sex are that it can foster feelings of intimacy, improve self-esteem and provide distraction from worries and stress.’
Hard as it may be to hear, it doesn’t always have to be about you. According to Chris Birch, giving really can be as good as receiving. ‘Giving can make us feel much better about ourselves. It can boost your own sexual confidence. Seeing your partner enjoying your touch increases your own sexual prowess, and gives you the opportunity to develop your bedroom repertoire.’
So, next time you’re feeling tired, frustrated and world-weary don’t force yourself out for a jog or a jaunt to the gym. Turn to your best girl for a complete mind and body workout. Much more fun than the gym and even better – it’s free.