Be More in the Mood for Sex with These Lifestyle Changes

 

When your wellbeing is affected by a low libido, you can feel like you’re the only one, or that something is wrong with you. However, according to sexual health and wellness expert Celia Shatzman, ‘If you’ve lost that frisky feeling, you’re not alone. Research shows that nearly a third of women and 15% of men lack the desire to have sex regularly. But there are things you can do to put the sizzle back into your sex life.’ So, which lifestyle changes can give your sex drive a boost?

 

1. Plan More Date Nights: ‘If a fun Saturday night with your hubby means watching Showtime in sweatpants, it could be killing your sex drive,’ warns Shatzman. ‘Rekindle your romance by getting out of the house for an old-fashioned date. Your dates don’t need to be grand romantic evenings; just going to the movies or out to dinner can reignite the spark you felt when you first met.’ Leah Millheiser, MD, director of the Female Sexual Medicine Programme at Stanford Hospital & Clinics, suggests, ‘If it’s too expensive to hire a nanny, ask your friends with kids to watch yours for the night and offer to return the favour.’

 

2. Choose a Different Birth Control Pill: ‘Hormonal changes take a big toll on your sex drive,’ Shatzman notes. ‘Birth control pills can be one of the biggest perpetrators: they can reduce your body’s production of testosterone, and in turn, your desire to get down. Certain varieties may even cause pain during sex. And even if you’re not on birth control, being aware of your hormonal status can help you dial in your libido. Prolactin, the nursing hormone, decreases estrogen and testosterone in breastfeeding women, which can wreak hormonal havoc. Additionally…menopause can bring a decrease in testosterone and estradiol, a type of oestrogen.’

 

3. Check Your Other Meds, Too: Shatzman instructs, ‘Take a look at your medicine cabinet—your prescriptions could be behind your lower libido. Aside from birth control pills, common offenders include drugs for high blood pressure, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), anxiety, and depression.’ Dr. Millheiser advises, ‘If a medication is the most likely culprit, discuss your concern with the prescribing doctor. It’s possible that another treatment may be used with fewer side effects.’

 

4. Divide Household Chores Equally: Dr. Millheiser points out, ‘After the kids go to bed, there’s often cleanup followed by work that you’ve brought home. As a result, intimacy gets pushed to the background.’ Shatzman comments, ‘If you and your partner are both working full-time, keeping the division of household labour equal and ensuring one partner doesn’t shoulder the whole burden will make both of you happier in the bedroom and out.’

 

5. Set Your Room Up for Romance: ‘It’s easy to get in the habit of letting your kids crawl into bed with you after they’ve had a bad dream, or sharing cuddle time with your cat or dog,’ allows Shatzman. ‘These are major mood killers. [Keep] the kiddos and pets out by simply locking the bedroom door at night. It may take some time to break these habits, but making the bed sexy again will make you more relaxed and ready for romance.’

 

6. Add Sex to Your To-Do List: Shatzman asks, ‘We schedule doctor’s appointments, work meetings, and drinks with friends—so why not sex? It’s not the most romantic approach, but setting aside a specific time with your significant other means you’re making a commitment to having an active sex life. This way, you’ll feel compelled to keep the appointment and be less likely to make excuses.’

Categories: birth, Birth Control, birth control pill, chores, control pills, dr millheiser, low libido, nbsp, Sex Drive, sex life, shatzman, time

Having Sex after Pregnancy: Are You Prepared?

Now you’ve got a new little person’s wellbeing to watch out for, sex after pregnancy might be the last thing on your mind. However, at some point you will start to think about your sexual health again, and you need to understand what to expect and how to renew intimacy with your partner.

 

When can you start? Unfortunately, sex after pregnancy can be a little harmful to your wellness in the early stages, thanks to vaginal soreness and sheer exhaustion. Whether you have had a c-section or given birth vaginally, your body will need time to heal and so jumping back in bed is perhaps not the best idea. Most wellness experts will agree that you need to wait for four to six weeks before having sex again, as this will give your body time for your cervix to close, postpartum bleeding to stop, and any tears or repaired lacerations to heal. However, there’s another important timeline to consider; your own. While some women are jumping at the bit to have sex again, others need a few months or even longer to move past the fatigue, stress and fear of pain that all take a toll on your sex drive.

 

Will it hurt? You go through a lot of hormonal changes after pregnancy – especially if you’re breast-feeding – which means your vagina will most likely be dry and tender. This means you need to take things slow to help ease any discomfort during sex. Start with some cuddling, kissing or massage before you gradually move on to a greater intensity of stimulation. Lubricants and gels can help with vaginal dryness, as can trying different positions to take pressure off any sore areas and control penetration. As is always the case with sex, communication is crucial, so you need to tell your partner what feels good — and what doesn’t. If sex continues to be painful, consult your health care provider about possible treatment options.

 

Will it feel different? If you delivered vaginally, the muscle tone in your vagina will have decreased, meaning that the pleasurable friction you normally experience during sex may be missing. This can have an influence on your arousal and enjoyment of sex, albeit temporarily. Kegel exercises can help you to tone your pelvic floor muscles more quickly, and, as a result, get back to that amazing arousal you used to experience. To locate the right muscles, stop your flow while peeing. The muscles that you use to do this are the ones you need to contract, exhaling as you do so and inhaling when you release. Try it for five seconds at a time, four or five times in a row, and then work up to keeping the muscles contracted for 10 seconds at a time, relaxing for 10 seconds between contractions. Eventually, you should be aiming to do at least three sets of 10 Kegel exercises a day.

 

What birth control do you need? Even if you’re breast-feeding, sex after pregnancy requires a reliable method of birth control – unless you’re eager to go through childbirth again! Barrier methods such as condoms and spermicides are available over-the-counter and are safe to use at any time. Birth control methods that contain only the hormone progestin, such as the minipill or Mirena, a hormonal intrauterine device (IUD), are also OK to use immediately after childbirth, but any method that contains oestrogen – such as combined birth control pills or the vaginal ring – may increase your risk of blood clots. If you want to return to combined birth control pills or other types of combined hormonal birth control, it is recommended that you wait until six weeks after childbirth.

Categories: birth, Birth Control, Breast Feeding, combined birth, control, control pills, Kegel Exercises, Pain, pregnancy, sex after pregnancy, time

How Birth Control Pills Affect Your Health?

Over 150 million women around the world use birth control pills, yet while they are convenient there are also health risks attached to them. These side effects can be fluctuating weight, breast cancer, irregular periods and mood swings. What’s more, the longer you use the pills, the higher this risk is. Knowing about the risks is important so that you’re prepared and can be better equipped to make a decision about whether birth control pills are right for you.

 

Cancer issues

Studies suggest that birth control pills could lead to serious conditions such as cancer. It’s thought that this form of contraceptive could lead to breast, cervical or liver cancer. If you have a family history of cancer, this can increase the risk even higher. This is because women who have a history of the disease could carry an 11 percent higher risk of breast cancer – you should check with your GP before taking these pills if this is the case.

 

Disturbed mensuration

Regular menstruation is important, but birth control pills can affect this – some face disturbed periods and others suffer with no periods at all, or spotting for months. It can take around tow to six months for your periods to resume normality when you stop taking this form of contraception. You should consult your gynaecologist if your menstruation hasn’t started returning as normal after two months. They may be able to suggest a way to solve this issue.

 

Mood swings

Based on your hormones, its no surprise that these pills can cause mood swings – this means irritability, anxiety, sleepless nights, excessive sweating and restlessness. These side effects can even lead to depression in some women. It’s vital that you speak to your GP about this before you take these pills, particularly if you already suffer with these problems.

 

Heart at risk

Your risk of pregnancy may be lowered, but these pills also affect your heart. If you use birth control pills for a long time, you may face a higher risk of heart related diseases, such as high cholesterol and blood pressure. This is because these pills form a type of plaque in the arteries, which hardens and makes it more difficult for blood to travel through. To avoid this happening, you should use safe alternatives to these contraceptives such as condoms, so that you don’t need to use the pills all the time.

 

Loss of interest in sex  

Birth control pills have another way of avoiding unwanted pregnancies, by making you less interested in sex. The hormones present in the pills can lead to you losing interest in the act itself, as it can bar the exposure to the male hormone testosterone, prevents the ovaries from releasing eggs and thickens your cervical mucus to stop sperm entering the vagina. The longer you use them, the less sexually active you feel.

Weighty issues

As with many hormonal treatments, weight gain or loss is a risk of these contraceptives. It may be the case that you lose your appetite because of them, or that you become very restless. The alteration in your weight is most likely when you stop taking the pills, as your body tries to adjust to a normal routine. If your weight doesn’t return to normal, speak to your GP who may be able to advise of a way to resolve this. Other side effects that women complain of include a swelling or heaviness in the breasts, headaches in the morning, change in the hair structure such as it becoming more brittle, vomiting or dizziness, vaginal infections and acne.

Categories: birth, Birth Control, breast cancer, control, control pills, higher risk, Mood Swings, Pills, risk, Women

Do You Know Everything You Should About the Female Orgasm?

You may feel at your most sexual when slinking around in a pair of glamorous high heels, but did you know that this simple item of clothing could actually have a damaging effect on your wellness and wellbeing?

 

A recent study has revealed that many different little-known facts about female sexuality. For example, did you know that women can get pregnant a full eight days after they last have sex? Sperm live for a long time, so can hang around and be ready to pounce on the egg as soon as it is released.

 

Another factoid that was revealed was that sitting down for too long can actually dampen women’s ability to orgasm, and that orgasms can make women more creative. Being well hydrated can improve orgasms too, and birth control pills can dampen them. The research showed that birth control pills not only dampen libido but also reduce sensitivity in the nerve endings around the vagina.

 

Despite the wealth of information that is coming to light about female sexuality, the female orgasm is still something that many men and women struggle to achieve. The important thing to bear in mind is that what works with one woman may not work with another, as every woman is unique. The one thing that all women have in common is that they work on a very cerebral level, and that the best way to stimulate a woman is through her mind.

 

The female G Spot is also something that you could explore together, on the path to finding a better orgasm. This is an area located on the back vaginal wall, which may be part of the clitoris and can be quite erotic for some women.

 

For many women, the clitoris is the most important part of vaginal intercourse and stimulation of it is the best way to help a woman reach orgasm.

Categories: Birth Control, control pills, female, female orgasm, female sexuality, nbsp, orgasm, Sex, woman, Women