We’ve all had a spouse or significant others tell us not to kiss them because they are suffering from a cold. On the surface, this makes sense since it’s easy to spread colds through contact and other forms of physical intimacy. In fact, you’d think the person suffering from the cold is being sensible by avoiding human contact to prevent the spread of this very common illness.
But a Wilkes-Barre University study in the state of Pennsylvania tells us the exact opposite. Contrary to popular belief, experiencing close contact with your partner while making love will actually reduce your risk of catching a cold.
There was a study performed by PhD’s Brennan and Charnetski, where they asked 67 college women and 44 college men about their frequency of having sex with another partner. They asked if they had it none times per week or less than once per week, once or twice a week, or three or more times per week.
In the study, the students also provided the team with samples of their saliva. There is an immunological protein within the saliva known as immunoglobulin A, which is basically the first responders of the immune system there to prevent the spread of viruses that cause the common cold. If you have plentiful amounts of this protein within your saliva, it’s much less likely that you will be susceptible to catching a cold.
Analyzing the Results
The test subjects who were having sex once or twice a week had the highest amount of immunoglobulin A in their system. This provided ample protection for them against colds. Out of the 3 different groups, the people that had more sex seemed to suffer from too much of a good thing and the people who had less sex had less IgA in their system. Actually, the group having it once or twice a week had 30% more than the other two groups.
Here’s another interesting tidbit:
The researchers also asked the participants of the survey about relationship satisfaction and the duration of their relationships. The participants who were satisfied and in a long lasting relationship had increased levels of immunoglobulin A.
Why These Results?
As far as why this is happening, it actually seems counterintuitive. You should be more susceptible to the common cold due to more frequent close contact. Obviously there must be additional benefits that override virus transfer due to close proximity.
Having a meaningful relationship and regular weekly lovemaking provides a relaxing experience for both partners. According to relaxation studies, this is similar to results that you get through visualization and guided imagery or meditation.
Washington State University psychologists performed a similar study. They received blood samples from 65 people and lookedat their white blood cell counts. Afterwards, the group watched a video about the immune system.
Part of the group did nothing afterwards. A second group learned how to meditate and did so twice a day. The third group learned visualization – specifically about strengthening the immune system, and did that twice a day.
After a week, the researchers took new blood samples from the 3 groups. There was no increase in the control group. But the visualization and meditation groups had increased white blood cells.
Final Thoughts
Just like our Wilkes-Barre study shows us, you can significantly reduce or prevent colds by having sex with your long-term partner once or twice a week. So the next time you feel a cold coming on, instead of pushing your partner away you should pull them closer.
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About Calvin Riddle
Calvin Riddle created Casual Sex Calvin as a way to entertain like-minded individuals on sex topics and solve many of life's problems people are too shy to talk about. When he's not working his 9-5 importing fine wines, he enjoys watching sports and will never turn down a good debate.