Let’s talk about sex — and how it can boost cognitive function
We know that in the right circumstances sex can be mind-blowing, but there’s increasing evidence that it can be beneficial for the brain in more tangible ways.
We know that in the right circumstances sex can be mind-blowing, but there’s increasing evidence that it can be beneficial for the brain in more tangible ways. Sex, according to experts, can be good for our cognitive function and memory.
Nicole Vignola, the neuroscientist and best-selling author of Rewire: Break the Cycle, Alter your Thoughts and Create Lasting Change, says that of all the feel-good activities we experience, sex gives the brain the biggest boost, engaging regions responsible for sensation, reward, emotion, memory and motor control. “Sex is the only activity that appears to light up every area of the brain simultaneously,” she says. “During orgasm it’s almost like a firework display.”
Research by the American psychologist Barry Komisaruk, of Rutgers University in New Jersey, involved asking men and women to lie in a specialised MRI scanner and reach orgasm. The study found that by the time of climax more than 30 major brain systems are activated.
The brain is being stimulated even before anyone takes their clothes off, Vignola says. A touch, a kiss, any form of arousal causes the release of a cocktail of the “happy” brain chemicals dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin. “In anticipation of sex, the mesolimbic pathway is lit up,” she says of the region responsible for drive and dopamine reward. “Nothing will get in its way.”
The brain’s neuroplasticity — its ability to reshape itself and store and recall information — is also positively affected. This effect is specifically because of the increased production of oxytocin, prompted by the pleasure from physical touch. “Oxytocin is really interesting because even though it’s the social bonding hormone, it’s really closely related to neuroplasticity,” Vignola says. “I suspect it’s the reason there are links between sex and improvement in cognition and memory. It’s as if oxytocin fertilises the brain to be available to make change.
“We have fibres in our skin called C-afferent fibres. These are stimulated in the soft parts of your skin, the parts where your partner might touch — the neck, the palms, the arms — and they release oxytocin.”
Vignola, who is also a brain health consultant, notes that we can’t say that sex makes us smarter, but there is a correlation. For example, a longitudinal US study published in the Journal of Sex Researchin 2023, Is Sex Good for Your Brain?, examined how frequency and quality of sex was related to cognition for older adults. It found that for 62 to 74-year-olds, better sexual quality — measured in physical pleasure and emotional satisfaction — was related to better cognitive functioning. For the over-75s, meanwhile, more frequent sex was related to better cognitive functioning.
Researchers also found that feelings of physical pleasure were related to better cognitive functioning for men but not women. Vignola suspects this is “probably because men in those age groups may struggle with intimacy in other forms”.
Another reason that sex has been linked with strengthening memory is its impact on brain plasticity, Vignola says. It’s the strong feelings associated with sex that may help the memory. “We learn through emotion. If you go to your niece’s recital for the first time, you’ll remember that for ever, whereas if you go to the store and bump into your friend, you won’t. In sex there’s a carnival of emotion involved.”
Another study, Sex on the Brain!, published in Age and Ageing, explored associations between sexual activity and cognition in the over-50s. Executive function and memory were assessed by testing number sequencing and word recall. Researchers found “significant associations between sexual activity and sequencing and recall in men”. In women, “there was a significant association between sexual activity and recall, but not sequencing”.
Why might there be any association at all? “When you have sex you release a neurotransmitter called BDNF — brain-derived neurotrophic factor,” Vignola says. BDNF is also released through exercise, and when you are learning something new. Imagine it as “a growth factor for the brain,” she adds. “It’s a protein that is responsible for the creation of new synapses, for the formation and maturation of synapses. It also ensures that the current neurons and synapses stay healthy and strong. The more of these proteins there are, the stronger the brain is. When we release BDNF, we’re essentially priming our brain for plasticity, to be able to stay cognitively malleable and be a bit sharper in your thinking.”
There have been studies on younger brains too. One that was published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior surveyed 78 women aged 18-29 about how often they had sex. They completed a memory test involving recall of faces and words. Researchers found that the women who had sex more often did better in recall of words — though not faces.
Why would sex affect one and not the other? Memory for words is largely dependent on the hippocampus, while memory for faces relies more on brain structures external to it, say the report’s authors, concluding: “This may suggest that neurogenesis in the hippocampus is higher in those women with a higher frequency of PVI (penile vaginal intercourse).”
Sex can boost wellbeing too, though this is of course dependent on your relationship with your partner and with sex itself. Barbara Sahakian, a professor of clinical neuropsychology at the University of Cambridge and co-author of Brain Boost: Healthy Habits for a Happier Life, told The Times last month that wellbeing and brain health were inseparable.
Sex has also been linked to lowered anxiety and a decrease in stress, if you can overcome the hurdle of stress itself. “If there’s too much stress, the prefrontal cortex stops you becoming fully absorbed in it, because you’re thinking about that email,” Vignola says. “But equally, if you can learn to shut it off, this is hugely beneficial for lowering cortisol.”
As for sheer pleasure, the powerful dopamine high of orgasm is akin to that of a class-A drug. Vignola notes that for men, activity in the amygdala — the area of the brain responsible for fear or stress — “is reduced, which may explain why men feel so relaxed during orgasm”.
And when you’re basking in the afterglow, those feelings of togetherness are a buffer against stress. “There’s a cocktail of all these neurotransmitters, endorphins, serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin — they’re all very high, creating buzzy, warm feelings. High levels of a hormone called vasopressin bonds people even further. You’re creating these ties.”
And sex doesn’t just strengthen your relationship; it increases testosterone levels in men and women. “Research shows that optimal levels of testosterone support memory, focus and mental clarity, while low levels have been linked to brain fog and cognitive decline,” Vignola says. “So beyond the immediate afterglow, regular sexual activity may contribute to long-term brain health — a mind-blowing benefit.”
Rewire: Break the Cycle, Alter your Thoughts and Create Lasting Change by Nicole Vignola is available now
The Times
