Sex Is Stressful, But Good For You

By Jonah Lehrer August 18, 2010

There’s a predictable narrative to a lot of discoveries in molecular biology. The story begins when a scientist discovers that Molecule X causes Phenomenon Y. Perhaps we’re talking about CREB and long-term memory, or serotonin and depression, or cholesterol and heart disease. At first, the data looks really solid – when the gene for Molecule X is knocked out of a mouse, Phenomenon Y disappears! And when patients take a drug that increases/reduces Molecule X, you get a change in Phenomenon Y! The causal relationship seems so simple.

And that’s when things start to get complicated. Time and time again, the neat relationship between Molecule X and Phenomenon Y disintegrates into a knot of feedback loops, enzymatic pathways, environmental interactions and regulatory genes. It’s not that Molecule X doesn’t matter – it’s that it doesn’t exist by itself. Instead, the Molecule exerts its effects by interacting with a byzantine list of other molecules, all of which can also influence the biological outcome.

This leads me to stress. Last month, I had an article in Wired on the dangerous chemistry of chronic stress. Scientists have known for years that glucocorticoids – the molecules released by the body during the stress response – trigger a wide range of negative health outcomes. The list of ailments connected to stress is staggeringly diverse and includes everything from the common cold and lower-back pain to Alzheimer’s disease, major depressive disorder, and heart attack. Stress hollows out our bones and atrophies our muscles. It triggers adult-onset diabetes and is a leading cause of male impotence. In fact, numerous studies of human longevity in developed countries have found that psychosocial factors such as stress are the single most important variable in determining the length of a life.

So far, so obvious: Glucocorticoids are Molecule X, and your health is Phenomenon Y. We should all be on beta-blockers, or at least practice Zen meditation. And yet, the situation isn’t quite so straightforward...



Read More http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/08/sex-is-stressful-but-good-for-you/

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Edit for spelling.

"Good stress is having sex. Bad stress is having your husband walk into the room while you're having sex!"