Sneaky Side Effects: Is the Pill Ruining Your Sex Life?

When it first came on the market, the birth control pill gave women more control over their sexual health than ever before. Birth control pills helped you to prevent pregnancy by inhibiting your ovaries from releasing a mature egg into the fallopian tubes during monthly ovulation – just in case you weren’t aware! However, recent studies are starting to show that eliminating ovulation may also affect your wellbeing in more subtle ways. By tricking your body into thinking it’s pregnant, your oral contraceptive may be discretely altering your attraction to men and vice versa. Though you may not realise it, there are subtle but important ways in which a single, tiny egg can make a monthly difference.

 

1. The Eyes (Don’t) Have it: You may have heard that your eyes dilate when looking at something or someone attractive, but the Pill interferes with this physiological response. Cristen Conger, wellness writer and co-host of the popular Stuff Mom Never Told You podcast, details, ‘Psychologists at the University of Trom in Norway tracked women’s pupil dilation, a physiological response to attraction, at multiple intervals during their menstrual cycles. Viewing a series of sexually stimulating photographs each time, participants’ pupil dilation was most pronounced during the women’s ovulatory phase – unless they were taking oral birth control. Women on the pill demonstrated no such additional stimulation, even in response to a photo of their current sexual partner.’

 

2. Sending Signals: According to Conger, ‘A lingering question about human evolution is what happened to female oestrus. In other mammals, oestrus is more commonly referred to as being “in heat,” the brief window when females can be impregnated. Women, on the other hand, can get pregnant at any point during their menstrual cycles, and – unlike some other animals, like baboons, which may experience temporarily engorged vulvas – ovulation comes with no outright physical signs of fertility.’ To test this out, researchers at the University of New Mexico investigated a group of 60 strippers, who were asked to log their daily tips from customers as well as the progress of their menstrual cycle. The results of the study revealed that during ovulation, strippers took home $335 per shift, compared to $185 per shift during their low-fertility periods. However, if the strippers were on hormonal birth control, they took home roughly the same amount each day, averaging $80 less than their naturally cycling cohorts. The researchers surmised this was because the male customers instinctively found the naturally cycling, and more immediately fertile, dancers more sexually appealing.

 

3. Lowered libido: Ironically, a lowered libido is an often cited side effect of hormonal contraceptives. Conger explains, ‘Birth control can work too well, in a sense, not only diminishing pregnancy risk but also dampening the desire for sexual intercourse. Anecdotal evidence has long supported this unadvertised side effect, and a growing number of studies have confirmed the rumours…Sexual dysfunction, such as low sex drive, poor lubrication or difficulty achieving orgasms, isn’t uncommon for women regardless of birth control.’ While researchers are still trying to work out whether the hormones in birth control could be to blame, repeated analysis has implicated oral hormonal contraception as a common culprit among women reporting limp libidos.

 

4. Choosing Mr. Wrong: Not only might your birth control make you less appealing to men and less in the mood for sex, it may also steer you towards a genetically unsuitable mate. ‘By successfully tricking the body into thinking its pregnant, underlying sexual behaviours follow suit, diverting single women toward more genetically similar men,’ Conger notes. ‘Although humans tend to practice assortative mating, in which people with similar backgrounds and sociodemographics couple up; genetically, however, opposites attract.’ As the Pill tricks your body into thinking it’s pregnant, it feels compelled to build a social support system among family and friends rather than seeking out a sexual suitor.

Categories: birth, Birth Control, control, decreased libido, lowered libido, menstrual cycles, naturally cycling, physiological response, pupil dilation, Research, The pill, Women

3 Medical Reasons Why You Never Feel Like Having Sex

A sexual health problem known as HSDD can really take its toll on your wellbeing. HSDD – which stands for hypoactive sexual desire disorder – occurs when you have a persistent lack of desire or absence of sexual fantasies. In other words, you’re rarely in the mood, rarely initiate sex and rarely seek sexual stimulation. According to Drs. Jennifer and Laura Berman, two of the nation’s top experts on sexual health for women, this lack of desire could come out of relationship wellness issues. In their book, For Women Only: A Revolutionary Guide to Overcoming Sexual Dysfunction and Reclaiming Your Sex Life, they write, ‘Communications problems, anger, a lack of trust, a lack of connection and a lack of intimacy can all adversely affect a woman’s sexual response and interest.’ However, there are also medical causes of HSDD, which include:

 

1. Medication Use: If you’re on prescribed drugs, they could be affecting your sexual wellness in a number of ways. Antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, for example, work to combat your depression by increasing the production of serotonin in you brain, but this hormone is known to, unfortunately, dampen your sexual desire. Other prescription medications also affect the balance of your sexual hormones and the transmission of your body’s chemical messengers. Drugs such as antihypertensives and birth control pills, as well as antidepressants, have been known to interfere with sex drive, arousal and orgasm, and may be contributing to your HSDD.

 

2. Menopause: A lot of the symptoms of menopause are rough, but knowing what causes them can help you to fight back, particularly when it comes to your sexual desire. Whether the onset of your menopause occurs naturally or surgically, it will be due to a gradual decline of your oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone hormones. The Bermans point out that reduced testosterone levels are particularly well-known for leading to a ‘sudden or gradual’ decline in sex drive. You may think that hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) could help to readdress this balance, but you’d be wrong; the ironic fact of the matter is that the conventional hormone replacement regimen of oestrogen and progesterone which is given to relieve menopausal symptoms can make matters worse. This is because a protein called steroid hormone-binding globulin is increased with raised oestrogen levels. When there are higher levels of this protein in your blood, it binds to testosterone, which causes this libido-boosting hormone to become less available to your body.

 

3. Depression: It’s not hard to see how depression can make you less in the mood for sex, but this diminished sex drive can, in turn, exacerbate your depression, leaving you in a vicious cycle of sexless sadness. Research shows that 12% of all women will experience clinical depression at some point during their lives and, as lowered libido is a common symptom of depression, it’s an issue of mass importance. Plus, as we’ve already covered, using certain popular antidepressants – including Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft – has the much-unwanted side-effect of further inhibiting your libido, meaning that depression packs a triple-threat against your sex life. The Bermans also note that some low-grade forms of depression, such as dysthymia, can also get in the way of your libido. In some ways, this is worse as you can usually function normally with dysthymia, and so it may go undiagnosed and un-addressed. If you’re experiencing dysthymia, you may find that you often feel isolated and overwhelmed, and it is these feelings that cause women to withdraw from sex, as well as social activities. If this or any of the above mentioned causes of low libido may be a problem for you, consult your GP for solutions.

Categories: decreased libido, depression, gradual decline, hormone, hormone replacement, Menopause, Sex Drive, sex life, sexual, sexual desire, sexual health

The Libido Lowerers: What’s Dampening Your Sex Drive?

Everyone wants a healthy sex life, but a stalled libido can get in the way of your sexual health and even have an impact on your overall wellbeing. The underlying causes of reduced sex drive can be varied, so you don’t have any idea what’s affecting your wellness – and this can be very unnerving. Because of this, if you have a faltering libido often, you can be tempted to suffer in silence. However, a little information can go a long way toward providing a solution, and the reality is that many causes are treatable. So, what possible causes are dampening your burning passion?

 

1. Ageing: As you age, your sex drive is no longer critical for reproduction and – as a result – it wanes. For men, your testosterone will likely peak in your late teens, and then slowly decline at a rate of about 1% per year – although you’ll probably be in the mood for sex way into your 60s. For women, however, the balance of your hormones – progesterone, oestrogen and testosterone – can become upset more suddenly around the age of 35-40, as this marks the beginning of perimenopause (or the period of time in which your body prepares for menopause). As your body is lower in oestrogen, your vaginal tissue will become less healthy, making sex more painful. For this problem, lubricating creams or gels can help, while trying new positions is recommended if your aching joints are making sex less fun.

 

2. Exercise: Generally speaking, a healthy body means a healthy sex life. However, sex is a physical activity and, as such, carries certain risks. Vigorous sex can be taxing on your heart and a host of muscle groups – particularly your lower back – which can put you off having sex in the future. Plus, if you exercise often outside of the bedroom, you may be bringing aches and pains to bed that can dull your sex drive.

 

3. Excess weight: There’s a famous story in which rotund Irish playwright Brendan Behan reportedly turned down an equally large woman’s passionate advances because – even though he’d would have liked to accept her offer, he was ‘afraid our equators would prevent conjugation.’ However, being overweight doesn’t just make sex difficult; it can also put a serious damper on your libido. If the physical assertion involved in sex makes your heart too busy trying to push blood through pounds of excess adipose tissue, it won’t be able to deliver an adequate supply to your sexual organs, which is a key factor involved in arousal. Plus, there’s a link between excess weight and other, libido-lowering conditions, such as diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. If you are overweight, improving your diet can help with all of the above, as well as improving your body image and, as a result, your sexual confidence.

 

4. Tiredness: At the end of a long, busy day, you hardly feel in the mood to get active between the sheets. Tiredness takes its toll on your entire body, causing you to operate at less than 100%. Not getting enough sleep has a direct impact on your body’s production of hormones and this, in turn, influences your sex drive. Simply put; feeling sluggish doesn’t often translate into feeling sexy. If you feel tired all of the time, you may have an underlying medical condition in need of treatment. Chronic insomnia, chronic fatigue syndrome and sleep apnoea can all be as deceptive as they are debilitating, and often require medical attention. However, if you’re merely run-down, some light exercise can give you more energy, as well as avoiding drinking alcohol close to bedtime.

Categories: ageing, body, decreased libido, drive, excess weight, Healthy, healthy sex, libido, nbsp, Overweight, Sex Drive, sex life

Is Progenis The Best Male Enhancement Supplement?

There are just so many choices out there for dealing with erectile dysfunction it can be confusing. So what makes Progenis the number one male enhancement supplement? Progenis stands out of the rest because it is an all-natural health supplement made from only the highest quality ingredients that really work and give you the help that you need. These ingredients have been extensively tested and once they have entered the body they can assist you by dealing with lengthening and thickening, as well as helping with endurance and strength of libido during your sexual activity.

Men who can potentially benefit from Progenis are those who suffer with performance anxiety, erectile dysfunction, low sex drive, perceived inadequate size or width or those that are unable to successfully keep a long-lasting erection.

One topic that men do not like to discuss is the idea of a decreased libido. That’s because it is something that is considered to be a problem for women, while men are always ‘up for’ sex. However, the reality is not the same as that. For many men it feels like because of this problem, which is physical, that they are less of a man, which is not at all the case. It is a sign of strength to admit it and to look for a new way to help with the problem. Having a medical issue is not anything to be ashamed of.

There are thousands of couples encounter issues in the bedroom every year that involves at least one of the following issues: decreased libido, inability to maintain an erection, lack of size, lack of endurance or erectile dysfunction.

Is Progenis The Best Male Enhancement Supplement?

Categories: decreased libido, Dysfunction, enhancement supplement, Erectile, erectile dysfunction, libido, male enhancement, problem, progenis