"Whatever symptoms a person is suffering - headaches, back pain, depression - a good sex life may have a salutary effect on them." Preliminary studies suggest that sex can bolster the immune system, relieve pain, ease some types of migraine headaches and have psychological benefits as well.
   The key is in the link between the emotions and physical health. Negative emotions - anger, anxiety, guilt, sadness - trigger an adrenalin - based stress response. "When that happens chronically," says Moskowitz, "it has a negative effect on our entire physiology, ultimately impairing the function of the immune system."
   The antidote? Positive emotions - fun, excitement - that sex can generate. "Sex releases tension and turns off the adrenalin  system," says Moskowitz. It is thought the nervous system then releases endorphins - natural pain relievers. These, say Moskowitz, "create a healing, relaxing situation for a whole system, giving it a chance to regenerate.
    Moskowitz is not alone in his belief that sex promotes good health. "There is such a thing as sexual healing," say Dr. David Sobel and Robert Ornstein in their book Healthy Pleasures. Studies have documented the connection between sex and good health in specific - and sometimes unexpected - ways:

THE HEART - "A lack of sexual satisfaction should be considered for further study as a possible risk factor for heart disease," says psychiatrist Alexander Lowen, director of The International Institute for Bioenergetics Analysis in New York City and author of Love, Sex and Your Heart. In a study of 100 women treated for heart attacks, 65 reported feeling sexual dissatisfaction before hospitalization. Another study of 131 men found that two-thirds said they had experienced significant sexual problems before their heart attacks.
   "Vigorous sex is like a mini-workout," says Dr. Alfred Franger, associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and psychiatry at the Medical college of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. A 120-pound man up to 12 calories.

THE IMMUNE SYSTEM- Dr. Dudley Chapman, clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Athens, Ohio, conducted a study of women with breast cancer. He found that those who were content with the intimacy in their lives had better levels of T cells - the white blood cells that play a major role in the workings of the immune system - and lived longer."
   Research has shown that stress hampers the immune system, making the body more susceptible to ailments, from colds and high blood pressure to ulcers. Intercourse counters stress and leads to total body relaxation. Through these effects last for just a few hours, with regular sex you'll progressively feel less stressed.

PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME - Sexual intercourse may alleviate the symptoms of PCS in some women. Blood flow to the pelvis increases five to seven days before a period, and this may cause bloating and cramps. "Muscle contractions during orgasm force blood to flow to the pelvis increases five to seven days before a period, and this may cause bloating and cramps. "muscle contractions during orgasm force blood to flow rapidly away from the pelvic region and back into general circulation, loosening tightness," explains Dr. Franger.

ACHES AND PAINS - "Orgasm is a natural analgesic," says Beverly Whipple, associate professor at Rutgers University's College of Nursing in Newark, N.J. In studying women suffering from painful conditions such as chronic arthritis and whiplash, she found that climaxing significantly raised their threshold for pain. Whiple explains that during sexual stimulation certain chemicals released by the central nervous system. "These chemicals," she says, "cause a pain-blocking effect." 
   Researchers debate the mechanisms of sexual first-aid. One theory is that endorphins activated by orgasm travel to receptor sites throughout the body and produce a morphine-like effect. "Endorphins can soothe a multitude of hurts, any thing from a toothache to back pain." says Teresa  Brady, executive director for the Minneapolis-based Minnesota Arthritis Institute.
   One of Chapman's female patients was suffering from severe arthritis. After resuming sex with her husband, she found that her arthritis began to diminish.

INSOMNIA - Lovemaking is also a remarkable sedative. It instantly soothes the body and helps relieve insomnia. "Sex is the great relaxer," says Lowen. "The better and more vigorous, the easier it becomes t fall asleep."

MENTAL HEALTH - How important is a satisfactory sex life for good mental health? Extremely so, reveals an ongoing study, began in 1970, that has so far analyzed 37,500 adults at San Francisco's Institute for Advanced Study  of Human Sexuality. People with fulfilling sex lives were found to be  less anxious, violent and hostile, and not as likely to blame others for misfortunes.
   Sexual satisfaction may also make you more self reliant, reveals a 30 year study of 65 men and 40 women by clinical psychologist Douglas Health, author of Fulfilling lives. "Over times, spouses learn how to express their needs, which helps to express their needs, which helps them become less inhibited, more spontaneous, and better able to meet demands, " says Health.
    Not surprisingly, these feelings spread to your partner and into your relationship. "A tender sex life helps bring out in each other the best qualities we have," says Roger Falge, a marriage therapist in San Rafel, Calif. 
   And when that happens, the ills of both mind and body are more readily healed.

By Kristin Von Kreisler,
Adapted from Redbook