Sex is fun.
We know this because it’s something most of us look forward to doing.
There are proven health benefits from having sex, but can too much sex cause you to die?
How much is too much?
The answer to these questions might just save your life.
Too much of a good thing can be bad for you; this includes sex.
There are some things to keep in mind when being intimate with your partner.
Obviously you should always communicate clearly, and sex should be something both parties enjoy.
If you don’t know if your partner is enjoying sex as much as you are, then ask.
If you don’t know what your partner likes or dislikes, ask.
If you don’t know exactly what you’re doing during sex, ask.
It’s okay to not know something about your sexual partner, but communicating has been
shown to increase the pleasure for both participants.
That being said if you and your partner enjoy having sex all of the time, what are the downsides?
And how much sex can you have before it becomes life threatening?
First let's start with the negative side effects.
Sex has many benefits, but can be painful sometimes.
This is especially true when two people have a lot of sex in a short amount of time.
Sex takes a lot of energy, and most of the time causes an increase in heart rate, muscle
activity, and sweating.
Therefore, you can kind of think of sex as a really fun workout.
Just like when working out at the gym, you need to stay hydrated and not overextend yourself,
otherwise you could pull a muscle.
In extreme circumstances you might get a really bad cramp or charlie horse, which can be incredibly
uncomfortable even during the pleasures of sex.
When you sweat a lot, your body loses water and nutrients.
Every time you have sex you probably break a sweat, which means you should be hydrating
before and after.
When you sweat the fluids lost need to be replaced.
If they are not, your body could become dehydrated.
It would be incredibly difficult to dehydrate yourself to death solely from having sex,
however, if you tried really hard you could probably do it.
Besides overall dehydration there could be dryness of specific areas of the body that
are frequently used while having sex.
In particular this can happen to the vagina.
Both men and women can, and should, get pleasure from sex.
However, the female genitalia can get dry from prolonged and frequent friction during
intercourse.
When this happens micro-tears can occur in the vagina resulting in discomfort, and if
not properly treated, serious pain.
Other painful side effects can occur if the female can’t replace the fluids that serve
as natural lubricants due to dehydration.
It is not uncommon after long bouts of sex for females to have chafing, irritation, or
rashes to develop on and around the vagina.
If you are engaging in a lot of sexual activity, it may be good to use lubricant to ensure
that the pleasure continues for everyone.
On the male side of things ejaculation can begin to take its toll on the male body if
it happens over and over again.
Having a lot of sex over the course of a weekend could cause sore testes.
Overexertion of any body part, including genitalia, can cause discomfort, however, these things
will not kill you.
If you are going to be having lots of sex in a short amount of time, just make sure
to take rest breaks, stay hydrated, and use lubricant… a lot of lubricant.
Another negative side effect of having too much sex could be a UTI.
UTI stands for urinary tract infection.
At a very basic level a UTI is when bacteria that is not supposed to be in the urinary
tract gets into it, and starts multiplying.
This can happen in the urethra, bladder, or in more serious cases the kidneys.
UTI’s normally are just extremely uncomfortable, but in severe cases can be dangerous.
That is why if you have a UTI you should go to your doctor and get antibiotics to kill
the infection.
UTI’s can occur as a result of sex if you get too dehydrated, so this is another reason
to drink lots of fluids if you plan on having a lot of sex.
However, there is something else to keep in mind to reduce the risks of getting a UTI
or other infections.
As fluids from the male or the female enter the vagina it can cause the natural pH levels
to become unbalanced.
This can also lead to infections and discomfort.
Imbalance of pH levels can also occur in the male urethra when there are multiple ejaculations
over a short period of time.
In order to reduce these risks, both males and females should go to the bathroom following
sex.
This flushes the urinary system and helps remove fluids that have entered these areas
during intercourse.
It is important to note that it does not matter your sexual preference, whether your are straight,
gay, polyamorous, or anything else, if you are having lots and lots of sex, you are susceptible
to all of the discomforts that can become associated with such a lifestyle.
Again a UTI and unbalanced pH most likely won’t kill you.
However, it is not completely impossible that you could die from a really bad infection,
or extreme dehydration, but this probably isn’t your biggest concern in terms of what
could kill you from having too much sex.
You and your partner will definitely want to take care of your bodies to reduce discomfort
and have a pleasurable experience, but you probably don’t have to worry about dying
from sex quite yet.
Research around deaths during sex has led to some interesting findings.
One surprising statistic has come up again and again in different research studies.
A very high percentage of men who die during sex are engaging in adulterous behavior.
In other words, men who are engaging in extramarital sexual activity naturally have a higher death
rate during sex than men who are faithful and having sex with only their spouse.
Now this is not because the male’s partner walks in on him having sex with someone else
and murders him.
Instead it has to do with other physical conditions that we’ll discuss later.
But the fact remains, men who died during sex were more often than not cheating on their
significant other.
In some studies the number of cheaters in sex related deaths could be as high as 82
to 93 percent of the total cases.
And these numbers are consistent around the world, suggesting that being an adulterer
anywhere comes with an increased risk of dying during sex.
In a study in Japan that looked at 34 deaths during sex, 80% of them were men who died
while having sex outside of their marriage.
In Korea a research study in 2006 found that 93% of cases involved adultery.
Another study in 2006 at Goethe University Frankfurt in Germany recorded that out of
68 men who died during sex, 10 of them died with their mistresses and 39 died while having
sex with a prostitute.
This means that almost 75% of the total number of sex related deaths in the study were adulterers.
So why is having a lot of sex outside of your relationship more dangerous than with your
partner?
It seems very unlikely that the high percentages of sex related deaths by adulterers across
different parts of the world are just random coincidences.
In these adulterous relationships the lover might be much younger than the adulterer.
This may not be surprising as men who engage in sexual activity outside of marriage or
a relationship tend to be older, and their sexual preferences probably aren’t aligned
to their age group.
As mentioned before sex can be taxing on the body.
A lot of calories are burnt, a lot of fluids are lost, and it can be comparable to working
out.
So, if one of the participants is severely out of shape, or is older, this can increase
the odds of death during sex.
In terms of adulterers something else might play a role in the high sex related death
rates.
It may not be the physical toll the act of sex is taking on the body, but the mental
toll.
A study from the University of Florence in 2011 found something very interesting in the
1,700 people that participated in their study.
People who were having sex outside of their marriage or relationship, had almost twice
the amount of cardiovascular disease as those who were monogamous and faithful.
The conclusion of the study was that deceiving your partner sexually could lead to a sense
of guilt.
This psychological burden could increase stress levels, and may be connected to a higher risk
of cardiovascular complications.
Up to this point it would seem the safest ways to have lots of sex is to make sure to
take care of your body, stay hydrated, and don’t cheat on your partner.
So what actually causes the death of people during sex?
And how much sex puts you at risk of dying?
The most common reason that someone dies during sex is because of a heart attack.
This is not surprising because of the sudden and increased physical activity that occurs
during sex.
If you go from a state of relaxation to having sex, your body needs to exert a lot of energy.
In order for you to maintain a high amount of energy your heart needs to pump blood quickly
around the body.
If your heart can’t handle the strenuous activity, it could lead to a heart attack.
Can too much sex kill you?
Yes it can.
But only under very specific conditions.
Studies found that people are 2.7 times more likely to have a heart attack during, or immediately
following sex, than when they are not engaged in the strenuous activity.
How do you protect yourself from a heart attack induced death during sex?
You need to take care of your body and exercise regularly.
Death during sex usually occurs in people who are overweight, older, or do not exercise.
This is because having sex is taxing when done right.
It takes a lot of energy.
Just like with other forms of exercising you are more likely to get injured if you try
to do too much too fast.
If you are planning on having a lot of sex, and you have not exercised in a very long
time, you should begin exercising immediately.
Sex is not always planned, so if you are having surprise sex, and do not live the healthiest
lifestyle make sure to start slow, drink lots of fluids, and don’t over exert on the first
go.
If you do find yourself planning to have a lot of sex there are risks involved if you
are not in relatively good health.
Experts recommend that people who do not live the healthiest lifestyle, and want to improve,
should begin an exercise program slowly and gradually increase intensity over time.
The same advice goes for people who do not have a lot of sex and want to start having
more.
Start slow, and work your way up, to avoid cardiac arrest during sex.
Can too much sex kill you?
Yes it can, but most likely it won’t; unless you are reaching an older age or already have
serious health issues.
If you are in these categories, you could always exercise more to decrease your chances
of a heart attack during sex.
Experts also warn that it is possible to have too much sex.
Normally when two people do this it is to avoid conflict, or having to do things that
they do not want to do like cleaning the house or getting work done.
If sex is getting in the way of your other responsibilities in life, maybe dial it back
a notch.
If you are having lots of sex and have no problems with getting everything done, good
for you!
Just remember that death via heart attack from too much sex can occur.
So keep up a healthy lifestyle, always stay hydrated, and don’t be afraid to take a
break once in a while.
Now watch “What is Sexsomnia (Sleep Sex Disease)?”
Or check out “What Happens to Your Body While You Are Having Sex?”