Aside from being straight-up amazing, sex toys also have numerous health benefits. When you use a sex toy, you might get more than you bargained for. Sexual pleasure is pretty much a guarantee. But did you know that using sex toys can also regulate your blood pressure, relieve stress, and improve the state of your pelvic floor?
Many women don’t understand just how many health benefits even a sex toy can have. If your friend, who happens to be a former nurse, tells you how genital vibration can help you with physical and mental health issues, listen to her. She knows her stuff.
Since many people don’t know what sex toys can do for them, we’re diving into all the perks of vibrator use!
Sex Toys Beyond the Sexual Satisfaction: Women’s Health
Using sex toys to regulate physical or mental health isn’t exactly a novel idea. Vibrators predate electricity, and they were used to “treat” made-up states in women across the globe. Today, such misogynistic notions are well outdated. Still, the fact remains that vibrators (among other sex toys) can help you improve both physical and mental health.
So, you’re not the only one if you found yourself praising your clit cuddler like the We-Vibe Melt for getting you through the pandemic. Many people found solace in using sex toys (both pre and during the pandemic).
There are even medical data to back you up. A recent study found that women’s health can greatly benefit from sex toys. Vibrators can help you improve your urinary and reproductive systems as well as your vascular and mental health. The same study states that both men and women can reap these benefits.
So let’s see what precisely one vibrator can do for your body and mind, shall we?
Increase Your Odds of Survival (With a Vibrator)
Although we’ve spent the previous few paragraphs praising sex toys for their magnificent capabilities, we have to say that simply using sex toys won’t ensure you’re completely healthy.
But it can improve your odds of living a longer life. How?
Well, vibrator use (or any sex toys, really) can improve your cardiovascular health. Frequent masturbation can keep your heart healthy. But, of course, it’s not a substitute for healthy living and regular exercise, nor will it prevent heart disease. Still, now and then, a bit of solo activity can help you keep those cholesterol levels down.
Studies Link Sex Toys With Better Heart Health
A nationally representative study at the Michigan State University found that women who experience more sexual pleasure and sexual satisfaction have lower chances of getting hypertension. Hypertension is high blood pressure that can often lead to heart attacks and even stroke.
But why is that? When women orgasm, their heart rate goes up right before and during the orgasm. Then, it steadily goes down sometime after the orgasm is finished. This might sound familiar to you, as it’s the purpose of high-intensity workouts (to get your blood pressure up and then down and increase your blood flow).
So, orgasming is kind of like exercising. One orgasm is the equivalent of a treadmill walk of about 1.7 miles per hour at an admirable 10% incline. Women who frequently achieve orgasms have a better chance of maintaining their heart health.
Increased blood flow has another fringe benefit because it keeps your immune system in good shape.
And Improve Your Sexual Health
Sex toys can do so much more than regulate our blood pressure. Both men and women can (and do) benefit from exercises such as Kegels. However, using a vibrator can also strengthen the pelvic floor muscles.
As we age, our pelvic floors get weaker (as does the rest of our body). However, we mustn’t let them deteriorate completely. The pelvic floor is integral for not only sexual health but also the proper function of our urinary tracts as well.
Regular sexual activity and penetrative sex can aid in keeping our pelvic floor nice and tight. But if you’re sans partner, don’t worry; a sex toy will do a great job.
Doing Kegels, or clenching and unclenching your pelvic floor muscles while a vibrator is inside you, is an excellent way to keep your muscles strong and in optimal shape.
When it comes to strengthening the pelvic floor, the type of vibrator doesn’t matter much. You can opt for anything from the small Mini Swan Wand to the much bigger Fun Factory Sundaze.
Better Bladder Control
One of the advantages of having a strong pelvic floor is better bladder control. We know that it might be challenging to link penetrative sex (with a person or a sex toy) and bladder control, but hear us out. As we said, vibrators can do more for women’s health than just enhance sexual pleasure.
According to a national survey and a systematic review done at the University of New Mexico, women who engage in frequent sexual activity (including sexual stimulation and penetration) have stronger pelvic floor muscles.
Furthermore, they also have fewer issues with the urinary tract. For example, urinary incontinence, the most common pelvic floor dysfunction, isn’t an issue for these women because a stronger pelvic floor allows them better bladder control.
A Healthier Vagina
When buying vibrators, many of us only think of them in terms of sexual pleasure and sexual stimulation. We rarely think that using a vibrator can help us with anything other than reaching an orgasm (or, if we’re lucky, multiple orgasms).
But sex toys improve our sexual health. Studies have shown that women who use a vibrator have healthier vaginas. With time, our vaginas lose their natural elasticity. They also become more short and narrow. One way to ensure our vaginas maintain their elasticity is to have frequent sex (or masturbate regularly).
When we get aroused, the lining of our vaginas and our vaginal walls produce secretion. This keeps everything well moisturized. And we all know that moisturization is vital when it comes to keeping ourselves young and plump. Moisture helps with elasticity which means that masturbation that involves vaginal penetration keeps our vaginas young!
Not only do vibrators offer plenty of health benefits, but women who regularly masturbate are more likely to do self-exams of their genital area. Furthermore, they are more likely to schedule regular appointments with their gynecologist and take care of their sexual health.
Vaginismus
Women who have vaginismus know just how difficult that condition is. It’s hard to believe that sex toys improve our muscle tonus so that we can deal with this horrible condition, but it’s true.
A sex toy company rarely promotes only sexual pleasure. Instead, most of them also focus on sexual health and preach sex-positivity. That’s why you’ll find many companies in the sex toy industry that put a lot of effort into sexual health promotion and offer toys (or better said, different devices) that can help with various conditions (vaginismus included).
For example, the She-ology Dilator Set is an excellent pick for women who experience a lot of pain during penetration.
Menopause and Sex Toys
Kind of like erectile dysfunction in men, menopause happens to every woman sooner or later. But menopausal symptoms can wreak havoc on a woman’s body. Aside from hot flashes, migraines, mood swings, troubles sleeping, and a slowed metabolism, women in menopause also experience vaginal dryness and a low sex drive.
Having sex during menopause can be a scary prospect. Many women find sex during menopause not as pleasurable as it was or even painful. Considering what ordeal menopause is, it’s difficult to comprehend that one sex toy can be a game-changer there.
But it can. A vibrator (or any similar sex toy), paired with a lot of lube and some goodwill, can change how a woman treats her body during menopause. Vibrators can even become medical devices during this time.
As our estrogen levels drop during menopause, our vaginas lose elasticity and moisture, making them more fragile. Furthermore, our vaginal linings become more thin and dry, and our vaginal openings shorten.
Vaginal Dryness and Erectile Dysfunction
One in three women experiences severe vaginal dryness that leads to painful sex during menopause.
Sex toys can help significantly here. They will help with arousal, but they will also help women relax enough for sexual intimacy. Vibrator use can dramatically improve menopausal sex and even reignite a sexual relationship.
They can also help with the low sex drive. Because a sex toy can help with arousal, vibrator use can increase sexual desire.
What’s more, because middle-age doesn’t just affect women but also influences erectile function in men, vibrators can lend a helping hand on more than one front. That is a massive benefit for both men and women struggling to maintain their sexual spark in middle age.
A vibrator is an excellent substitute for an erect penis in bed. The notion that you should only use it for solo play is outdated and wrong. So, vibrators can improve your sex life and sexual intercourse in many ways.
Vibrators Can Boost Your Sex Life
Couples who experience dry spells after decades together often turn to relationship therapy (or marital therapy). Sexual and relationship therapy is no longer the taboo it once was, which is a fantastic improvement that we should all take advantage of.
Although there’s no one perfect “sexual medicine” for couples who struggle with sex, vibrator use is one of the better solutions. No matter the issue a couple is struggling with, a sex toy can offer a lending hand.
First of all, it will be a novelty for couples who haven’t used a vibrator or any other sex toy before. However, trying out something new and spicing things up can significantly improve your sex life.
On the other hand, for couples who are struggling with menopausal symptoms or need help with delayed ejaculation, as explained before, sex toys can help on both fronts. That’s why sex toys play a prominent role in plenty of sex and relationship therapy sessions.
Vibrators and Physical Health
If we take a step back away from the notion of sexual medicine, we’ll see that a sex toy can also help with some other issues. First, of course, various sexual activities can help us maintain our health (especially sexual health). Still, to not rely on a partner (and their sexual prowess), we can opt for a bit of solo activity and use sex toys to relieve some issues.
Better Sleep
You’ve probably noticed that when you reach orgasm, you get sleepy. You might have also noticed that you sleep better after spending a portion of the night rolling in the sheets. But why is that?
When we climax, our bodies go through a whole ordeal. As mentioned before, our heart rate shoots up during an orgasm and then gradually goes down. What’s more, our blood pressure stabilizes. These are excellent conditions for falling asleep.
While that’s true, many other things also happen after an orgasm. For example, when we climax, our brains release various chemicals. One of those is prolactin.
Prolactin is a hormone that some women are familiar with because it plays a vital role in breastfeeding and lactation. But it also affects our sleep. It’s a growth-sleep hormone that promotes rapid eye movement. As some of you know, rapid eye movement or the REM stage of sleep is the stage when we dream. It’s also the stage that precedes the deep sleep stage (which is when our bodies and minds rest the most during the night and regenerate).
So, having an orgasm right before bed is an excellent way to improve your sleep schedule. Vibrator use before bed can ensure that you fall asleep quickly and effortlessly and rest more (because you’ll fall into the deep sleep stage quicker and stay in it longer).
Less Stress and Anxiety
Prolactin isn’t the only hormone our brains release during and after an orgasm. When we climax, our brains get flooded with different chemicals, which are mood boosters.
If you’ve never heard of the feel-good hormones, you’re missing out on some fun knowledge.
Oxytocin and serotonin (also known as the bliss chemicals) are the two primary hormones released during an orgasm. Oxytocin, or the love hormone, is the hormone responsible for muscle contractions (and ejaculation). The more oxytocin our brains release, the stronger our orgasms.
But oxytocin also does so much more than ensuring we come like we never did before. When our brains release this hormone, we feel elated, bonded with our partner, generally happy, and less stressed. Oxytocin also promotes wound healing and better immune response.
So, it’s logical that frequent orgasms can generally help us reduce stress (among other things).
Orgasms also affect anxiety. Sex and masturbation can be excellent tools of distraction. They help us relax, release the feel-good hormones in our bodies, and generally boost our moods.
Orgasms also help us release tension and regulate our breathing. Those who have mild or severe anxiety know just how important breathing patterns are when stress hits.
Orgasms affect our nervous systems. So, they can be an excellent remedy for neurological conditions such as anxiety and depression. But, of course, sexual medicine won’t completely solve your issues. It especially won’t be as effective as therapy and medication. Still, having an orgasm or two every day can help you feel better.
Less Pain
We can’t talk about the feel-good hormones without mentioning all the wonderful things they do for our bodies. For example, oxytocin and dopamine can help you reduce pain.
Now, we’re not talking about severe pain here. For example, the pain that follows surgical interventions after a spinal cord injury or serious conditions such as multiple sclerosis requires serious medication. But when it comes to regular, everyday pain, such as the one that accompanies periods or migraines, orgasms can help us there.
According to a study done at Harvard University, the feel-good hormones are stored in the pituitary gland and are released during pleasurable acts. Now, orgasms aren’t the only thing that will trigger their release. You can also reduce pain by releasing these hormones during exercise or other pleasurable activities.
However, masturbating is easier (and more pleasurable) than exercising. That’s why many people opt to use sexual sensations to trigger the release of the feel-good hormones.
Women who frequently used a vibrator reported significant improvements concerning period pains and pains in general. The genital vibration, paired with an orgasm, quickly and efficiently lessens cramps and the pain that goes along with them.
Exploring Your Body and Sexuality
So, it’s clear that vibrators and sex toys, in general, can help us maintain physical health. However, owning and using a sex toy can do wonders for our mental health. Aside from affecting stress, anxiety, and depression, using a sex toy can also improve our mental health by boosting our confidence and helping us get intuned with our bodies.
Body Confidence
Sex toy companies promote health, better sexual function, and pleasure. But because sex toys can help us get familiar with our bodies and explore, they also encourage other health topics like body positivity and confidence.
Today, sex toy companies are more focused on ensuring their clients get the most out of their products. However, one of the fringe benefits of vibrators (and of the most important points in various health topics) is that they allow us to gain more body confidence.
By using sex toys, we explore our bodies, get familiar with our likes and dislikes, and learn how to pleasure ourselves. That means we don’t have to rely on other people to satisfy us. It also means we gain more confidence in bed and life. When you know what you want, it’s easy to ask for it. What’s more, it’s also easy to expect it.
Exploring Pleasure
Of course, the most essential function of a vibrator is the sexual function. It’s a tool that, depending on the type, has different settings and capabilities that will allow us to experience a sexual sensation we might not have experienced before.
As with anything in life, we might like that sexual sensation, or we might not. But the vital thing is that we can explore it. Vibrators allow us to explore our bodies and do something to ourselves without relying on others and their sexual prowess.
In other words, with a vibrator, we can reach orgasm with no help, in many ways, and learn to please ourselves.
Closing the Orgasm Gap
For some reason, people are still unwilling to talk about the orgasm gap. But, on average, in heterosexual relationships, women orgasm fewer times than men. Considering that we’re capable of multiple orgasms, that seems odd.
91% of men report climaxing during intercourse, while only 64% of women can say the same. That means there’s a massive discrepancy between men and women in heterosexual relationships.
But how can vibrators help?
Well, women orgasm more frequently during masturbation. The satisfaction rate is much higher when a silicone, ABS plastic, or TPE penis is involved. Does that mean that men are bad at sex?
No, of course not. Women need consistency of stimulation to orgasm. Sometimes the tiniest thing can throw us off rhythm and ruin the entire experience. A vibrator is much more reliable when it comes to consistency.
Of course, that doesn’t mean we should forgo men entirely. It does, however, mean that we can use vibrators and make good use of their intended sexual function even when we aren’t flying solo. Vibrators can help us close the orgasm gap; we need to give them a chance during coupled play.
Heterosexual men report lesser levels of satisfaction during intercourse that involves sex toys. But before you let that discourage you, consider that men use vibrators and other sex toys to pleasure their partners.
So, their lower levels of sexual satisfaction make sense. Bisexually identified men report the same or higher levels of sexual pleasure when using sex toys. That proves that sex toys really can help close the orgasm gap.
A Few Parting Words
Overall, vibrators (and specifically genital vibration) can help you boost your sex life and help maintain physical and mental health. They are excellent devices that can practically transform your sex life. All you have to do is pick one and let it change you!
