What happens when you don’t have sex for some time: Myths v/s facts

With the third wave of the pandemic already upon us, we have now entered the third year of the global pandemic. With lockdowns happening for long periods of time, along with other restrictions in place time and again, people have been finding it extremely difficult to get back to normal life. Seeing and meeting each other in real life and not virtually almost became a luxury. During these times, single people and even people in committed relationships found themselves deprived of any physical pleasures, especially sex. While a lot is said about what might happen to people’s bodies if they do not have sex in a while. However, everything that is said cannot and should not be believed. Here are some of the things that are popularly said but have little credibility and others that aren’t popularly known but people should actually be aware of.

When people abstain from sex for long periods of time, their libido can take a hit. When you’re having sex regularly, you feel sexual regularly whereas during periods of abstinence, you might not feel the same as frequently due to which your libido may go down. However, it will come back to normal once you get back to routine, so you don’t have to worry about permanent damage.

It is common knowledge that sex helps release feel good hormones like oxytocin and serotonin that promote happiness and lift your mood up. Less frequent sex means less production of these hormones, which might lead to depression and anxiety due to changes in hormonal levels. However, sex isn’t the only way to orgasm, you can make time for masturbation which will be equally effective in maintaining happy hormone levels.

When you engage in sexual activity, the vagina stays lubricated but during ‘dry spells’, as they are called, you won’t get as aroused and your vagina might feel dry and uncomfortable. Even though dryness is seldom a problem, discomfort is. Make sure you make time for yourself and masturbate so that the discomfort and dryness are at bay.

No, nothing of this sort happens if you do not have sex for a long time. The principal factors that keep the vaginal walls open are hormones such as estrogen and progesterone which are produced regularly by the ovaries, regardless of your sexual activity. During regular sexual activity, the production would obviously be much more than usual and as a result, the opening may decrease in size if the period of abstinence is extremely long, but there is no probability of the walls closing up altogether. Hence, the vaginal walls will be open and flexible.

Skin-to-skin contact in humans leads to ‘positive’ feelings of happiness and satisfaction because it conveys emotion. Sex is another form of the same and if you are on a long break, you might find yourself suffering from skin hunger. Platonic acts of affection should not be underestimated or shunned, and would rather help you make it through these dry spells smooth