Scarcely a day goes by without someone harping on about why we all must try meditation. It started with #Girlbosses and health gurus telling us about the ungodly time they wake up to squeeze in a session, but now an increasingly large section of society (including school kids) seems to have been converted by meditation's ability to calm and "ground the mind."
It's well known that meditation can to combat stress, but it also has some rather unexpected, and more exciting, benefits too. A recent study suggests it could even transform your sex life.
The research, published the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, investigated the link between meditation and sexual function in women by asking 450 participants aged between 17 and 70 about their experience of meditation, sexual desire, awareness of their own body sensations, their health and mood – and the findings will make you want to download Headspace immediately.
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The 193 women who meditated had better scores for sexual function and desire – regardless of how often they meditated or how long they'd been doing it for. “In particular, our findings show that women with meditation experience have higher scores related to arousal, lubrication, orgasm and desire than women with no meditation experience," study co-author Lori A. Brotto, a professor at the University of British Columbia and author of Better Sex Through Mindfulness, told PsyPost.
They women who meditated also had a greater awareness of their internal body sensations and were found to have more "mindful personalities." Mood was a particularly important factor and was "a significant predictor of both improved sexual function and sexual desire in women who meditate."
In other words, it was the mood-enhancing benefits of meditation that contributed to better sex lives.
However, the study didn't confirm whether the link between meditation and a better sex life was casual. It's a chicken/egg situation: Does meditation leads to greater sexual function or are people with better sex lives more likely to meditate?
If you're sex life is a little lacklustre, then, it's probably worth giving meditation a go – and you could even make it a couples' activity. “One implication of the findings is that women experiencing sexual difficulties could potentially stand to benefit from any form of meditation, regardless of how frequently they are able to practice,” said Brotto.
“Though this study focused on women, we have pilot data and clinical experience to suggest that these same benefits will likely transfer to men.” So, while meditation may not make you a better human being, it could at least give you a boost in the bedroom.
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