Sex Makes People Feel Sexier

Study shows women too are affected by testosterone levels
March 1, 2007 — Sexual activity for men and women, straight or gay, raises testosterone levels, which, at least in women, fuels the desire for intercourse, increases the likelihood of experiencing an orgasm and heightens the individual’s belief in her own sexiness, recent studies have found.

Van Anders, a researcher in the Department of Psychology at Canada’s Simon Fraser University, and her team conducted two separate studies. Both have been accepted for publication in the journal Hormones and Behavior.

The first examined how cuddling, intercourse and exercise affected testosterone in 49 women before and after these activities. "After" included directly following sex as well as the next morning, when the test subjects also answered a questionnaire that included questions about orgasms, levels of sexual desire and feelings of sexual attractiveness.

Overall, the test subjects experienced higher levels of testosterone just before and after cuddling and intercourse, with the greatest rises being associated with copulation. The higher the testosterone rise was, the greater the likelihood was that the woman experienced an orgasm and felt more sexually attractive the next day.


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