Have more sex is unlikely to be the advice you expect to receive from your GP.
HELEN FOSTER FOR THE DAILY MAIL
But to judge from the latest studies, an active sex life could be as important as watching your diet, moderating alcohol intake and quitting smoking to boost health.
'Granted "improving your health" is not usually at the top of your mind when you're thinking about sex, but immunity, cardiovascular health and depression are just some of the areas where studies suggest that sexual activity might have a benefit,' says Kaye Wellings, a professor of sexual and reproductive health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Research shows that it can help reduce the risk of heart disease and incontinence.
And last year, a study published in the journal Fertility and Sterility showed that sexual activity at least three times a month was linked with a milder Covid-19 infection.
The theory is that it primes the body to handle pathogens more effectively.
This followed a 2004 study in the journal Psychological Reports which found that intercourse once or twice a week increases levels of immunoglobulin A, part of the antibody response of the immune system that defends us against infection.
Another study suggested that orgasms can clear a stuffed-up nose as effectively as a nasal spray, reported the journal Ear, Nose & Throat last year — probably because exercise has also been shown to be a decongestant, as the resulting increase in body temperature loosens mucus while the increase in circulation encourages the flow of nasal discharge.
And research from University College London found that women engaging in sexual activity at least monthly had a later menopause than those who weren't sexually active.
The researchers suggest that if sexual activity is not detected, the body deprioritises ovulation, triggering the menopause.
It can also be good for mental health. A study in The Journal of Sexual Medicine in January found that people who maintained a sexual relationship during lockdown — whether they were living with their partner or not — were 34 per cent less likely to experience depression than those who didn't.
In fact, some experts believe sex to be such an important barometer of general health that it should be more widely discussed by doctors with their patients — yet this rarely happens.
'As a doctor, you're happy to ask women about their menstrual cycle, yet sexual activity is something we rarely discuss,' says Geoffrey Hackett, a urologist and a professor of men's health at Aston University in Birmingham.
'And the issue is even worse with men, yet knowing if a man has regular erections tells me an awful lot about his health.'
An inability to get an erection can have a number of causes but may occur as a result of blockages in the arteries supplying the penis, a potential sign of furred arteries elsewhere in the body.
Being physically able to have sex also indicates a certain level of fitness.
'We estimate that 20 minutes of sexual activity in a man is the equivalent of walking a mile, and that's a reasonable amount of physical effort if you do it often enough,' says Professor Hackett.
When having sex, men burned on average 100 calories and their heart rate rose to as much as 170 beats per minute — this helps strengthen the heart — according to research published in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour in February.
Men having sex two to three times a week have a 45 per cent lower risk of a heart attack compared with those having sex once a month or less, reported the American Journal of Cardiology in 2010.
Professor Hackett points to the Caerphilly Heart Disease Study, set up in 1979, involving 914 men aged 45 to 59, which found that deaths from heart disease over 20 years were double in men having intercourse once a month compared with those having sex twice a week.
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