It is a painkiller. Did you know that? Well, now you do, and it is high time you released a revised version of that book of yours with the ten excuses not to make love with your spouse. Delete the part that says ‘headache’… ‘back pain’… From common migraines and backaches to arthritis and other body aches, making love the right way can keep the doctor and paracetamol away. By right way, I mean with pink elephants, exploding fireworks, the whole parade. A 1996 article quotes American psychologist Judith Sachs as saying: “One orgasm can give some people six pain-free hours, whether they have arthritis or whiplash.” Imagine. Thirty years ago, this was already known, yet pain-this, pain-that is still the reason some people are denied sex. Haven’t you heard of cases where a spouse – especially men – is really sick, but interestingly seems eager to get their groove on, nonetheless? Yep; the body has natural painkillers, and when in pain, it craves that natural relief without you even recognizing what it is. Great sex reportedly releases a rush of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers. Sachs, who is also the author of The Healing Power of Sex, said in the article that while sex may provide a short reprieve from discomfort (but hey, so does Paracetamol), the subconscious remembers how erotic activity gave pain relief and soon, pain starts responding faster to your erotic ‘medication’. The article quotes people who went to bed blurry-eyed with pain, and came up for air a few minutes later all starry-eyed and pain free. So, some people take a pill, others seek out their spouses for a great, pain-relieving session. Interestingly, sex is the first thing many people shelve as long as they are in pain or discomfort. You have to remember that sex is one of the most powerful muscle relaxants known to psychologists – good, fulfilling, orgasmic sex, that is. This means, anything caused by stress – headaches, insomnia, depression, body aches, grief, name it – will benefit from a satisfying sexual experience. Next time your wife uses “I have a headache” as the excuse for not making love with you, explain to her how you have the medicine… Just be sure to really have the medicine, though; bad sex can be just as useless as no sex. According to Sachs, “When we are being caressed, we get a wonderful tingling sensation from a whole variety of endocrine messages. These chemicals also resonate in the immune system, spurring the production of white blood cells.” Not only does your body fight pain naturally with great sex, it also produces more disease-fighting T-cells when sexually satiated. God is truly the Almighty; He gave us ‘self-contained’ bodies in every imaginable way, and we are the only ones to blame for the bodies not working as designed. But otherwise, everything was factored in. We are the ones that have redefined marriage and the sex in it, making it so meaningless and unenjoyable that its supposed benefits mostly go right over our heads. These health benefits accompany all the other commonly known advantages of great sex, including a natural glow, heightened senses, great self-esteem and improved creativity, among others. They say, “the best-laid career plans often come from the best-laid employees”, so, go figure. caronakazibwe@gmail.comThe post One benefit of great sex you probably did not know… appeared first on The Observer.