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With our everyday lives becoming more fast-paced than ever, the importance of taking a few moments to slow down and gather our thoughts has come to the forefront. Meditation has presented itself as a wonderful tool for mindfulness. Not only does it help in bringing health concerns like hypertension in control, but it has also proven to be extremely beneficial for the improvement of mental health. However, does practising meditation have any effect on sexual health? Keep reading to find out!

  1. Meditation and sexual desire: is there a connection?
  2. How much meditation improves sex life for women
  3. Sex life and meditation: takeaways

The simple answer to this question is yes. Nearly a dozen studies confirm that meditation improves sexual function and satisfaction, especially in women. (Read more: What is sex?)

In fact, in a study published in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy showed that women who meditate experience higher levels of sexual arousal, desire, lubrication and orgasm in comparison to those who don’t.

The study involved around 500 women, aged between 19 and 70 years. The researchers found that women with meditation-experience reported better sexual functioning compared to those with no experience of meditation. These women were also more aware of their internal bodily sensations than others, which may have been a contributing factor to better libido. (Read more: How to increase libido: foods and remedies)

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It is unknown whether there are benefits associated with long-term meditation. However, it is not difficult to predict that regular, long-standing meditation practices should result in greater sexual satisfaction. The reason for this is the benefits that meditation has to offer. These benefits include the following:

  • Meditating regularly reduces our stress levels significantly. Chronic stress has an adverse impact on our levels of testosterone, which has a crucial role to play in women's sexual desire and response. (Read more: Meditation for stress relief)
  • Meditation is also a great tool to combat anxiety. Anxiety can reduce physical desire while also keeping women from being lubricated enough to engage in intercourse. (Read more: Lubricants: types, uses)
  • It Increases self-awareness which can help in communicating authentically with one’s partner.
  • Helps in keeping intrusive thoughts in check

Having a busy, preoccupied mind can make it difficult to be fully present and aroused, which may hinder intimacy. The idea behind mindfulness is to help people stay in the moment thus making the process even more pleasurable.

Meditation can be beneficial in various areas of life, including the entire experience of sexual intimacy. It is possible that since meditation improves one's overall sense of well-being, it could also improve women’s sexual functioning. Meditation also curbs problems like anxiety and fights depression. Given that there is so much that could significantly improve if one takes out a few minutes daily for meditation, it cannot hurt to try. You could join an online class or download one of the many apps available for guided meditation.

Especially in case of sexual difficulties, one could potentially benefit from meditation—even if they can't find the time to meditate every day.

References

  1. William Van Gordon 1 , Edo Shonin 1 and Mark D. Griffiths Meditation Awareness Training for the Treatment of Sex Addiction: A Case Study Journal of Behavioral Addictions Volume/Issue: Volume 5: Issue 2, 01 Jun 2016, 363–372
  2. Tsui, Mark; To, Joanna ; Lee, Allen Mindfulness meditation, mental health, and health-related quality of life in Chinese Buddhist monastics East Asian Archives of Psychiatry Volume 30 Issue 3 (Sep 2020)
  3. Lori A. Brotto & Julia R. Heiman Mindfulness in sex therapy: Applications for women with sexual difficulties following gynecologic cancer Sexual and Relationship Therapy Volume 22, 2007 - Issue 1
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