illuminating science

I don’t know if this has quite the status of urban legend, but it’s sometimes said that engaging in sex is a good way to relax before a big event, like giving a speech. Turns out, there really is some truth in that! In a rather personal study, participants were asked to keep a diary of their sexual activity, then subjected to various stress tests, like public speaking. Those who had participated in full intercourse were least stressed, and their blood pressure went down the fastest, compared to those who engaged in other types of sex, or none at all. I haven’t actually read the original article, and it was a relatively small sample size, but it’s likely there really is some effect there.

And to head off any discussion, it’s purely coincidental that this follows straight after my post on how well my talk went…