Improve Your Sex Life With A Healthy Brain

Love is the answer, but while you are waiting for the answer, sex raises some pretty good questions. ~Woody Allen

Contrary to what you might believe, the brain is the largest and most sensitive organ in the body. (Sorry guys!) Keeping your brain fit and healthy has a far greater impact on your sex life than keeping your body fit and healthy (although that's pretty important too).

If you want to have a great sex life, you need to pay attention to the way your brain works, the differences in the male and female brain, and the sexual power of the brain in between physical encounters.

Great sex doesn't just happen in a brief physical connection. The brain is involved in setting the stage for great sex — fostering a way of life that stimulates you mentally before you are ever aroused physically.

When your brain is healthy, it helps you be kind, intimate, creative, thoughtful, loving, and committed with your partner. If your brain and thinking is dysfunctional, it can cause dysfunctional behaviors like distraction, impulsiveness, negativity, selfishness, or unfaithfulness. Clearly, these behaviors will undermine your chances for intimacy and love — and great sex.

Other brain issues can impact your sex life too, including depression, anxiety, ADHD, PMS, substance abuse, and personality disorders. Left untreated, these issues make it nearly impossible to have healthy love and sexual relationships. Emotional well-being begins in the brain and sometimes requires chemical or psychological intervention. Managing stress, finding life balance, and learning coping strategies, all will improve your sexual outlook.

The Male and Female Brain

Great sex also hinges on understanding and responding to the differences in the male and female brain. The brain is differently constructed in men and in women; it processes information in a different way, which results in different perceptions, priorities and behavior.

The hypothalamus, the part of the brain responsive to sex hormones, is two and a half times larger in men than women. Men are programmed to be more responsive to sexual feelings. Plus, with lower overall activity in the brain, men are constantly looking for excitement and stimulation.

Women have a larger corpus callosum, making them better at multi-tasking. (That's why we can make a grocery list during sex.) Women have more overall brain activity and are always thinking, thinking, thinking. They also have language on both sides of the brain, and therefore can overwhelm men with words. Women also are much more sensitive to smells and touch.

Men are always ready for excitement. With the lower activity levels in their brains, and higher testosterone levels, it takes little to get men going physically.

Women have so much going on in their brains that they need to be soothed, courted and encouraged to be in the mood. Mental and physical foreplay are imperative.

Men have significantly lower levels of oxytocin, the chemical of trust and bonding, than women have. For women, touch, talking, holding hands and kind looks will increase oxytocin. For men, an orgasm increases oxytocin up to 500%. So to bond and connect, men need sex and women need to talk and touch.

Take Preemptive Action For Great Sex

So how can you use this brain information to improve your sex life? Pay attention to these gender brain differences and use them to your sexual advantage. It will foster not only better sex, but also a more intimate, loving relationship in general.

Men, if you want more sex,talk and touch more. Show affection, kindness, and tenderness. Help increase the oxytocin in your partner's brain.

Women, if you want more intimacy and connection, have more sex. An orgasm stimulates oxytocin production for your man, so give him plenty of them. His brain is wired for stimulation.

Create more sexual excitement in your relationship.Dopamine is the brain chemical involved in "chemistry" and those over-the-top feelings when you first fall in love. It is associated with excitement and motivation in the brain. Want to re-create those feelings? Do something new, edgy, even a bit forbidden to increase dopamine.

The way to sex is through her feet.The area of the brain that feels sexual arousal is right next to the area that feels the feet! Give each other foot rubs as a form of foreplay. Ever wonder why women love shoes so much?

Strengthen memory for frequent sex.Wake up your partner's brain to you and make yourself unforgettable so that sex will be inevitable and often. Do something unexpected or unpredictable to please your partner. Stimulate their hippocampus (memory center) with photos, cards, songs, smells, and letters.

Get the blood flowing mentally and physically.Try an aphrodisiac that will increase blood flow to the brain and genitals. Asian ginseng 200mg, gingko biloba 6-120mg, and L-arginine 3,000 are ways to increase blood flow.

Try some sexy scents for arousal.Certain smells also are aphrodisiacs. For men, lavender, pumpkin pie, doughnut, black licorice, orange, cheese pizza, roast beef, and cinnamon can get him in the mood for more than food. For women, baby powder, cucumber, licorice, lavender, and pumpkin pie will do the trick.

Eat the right foods for sexual health.Almonds, chocolate, cheese, and avocados increase PEA (Phenylethylamine), a neurotransmitter chemical in the brain that causes you to fall madly in love with someone. It is a natural form of amphetamine that floods the regions of the brain involved in sexual excitement. Here are some other foods for great sex:

Wild yams increase genital sensitivity.

Oysters high in zinc helps produce testosterone and dopamine for stimulation.

Garlic contains allicin which increases blood flow to the sexual organs.

Figs high in amino acids increases the libido.

Chili peppers have capsaicin which stimulates nerve endings and raises heart rate.

Celery contains androsterone, a hormone in male sweat that arouses women.

Bananas contain the bromelain enzyme, believed to improve male libido.

For most of us, great sex comes pretty naturally during the early stages of a relationship when dopamine is surging through our brains and the world is our oyster — or chocolate bar! However, when our relationships grow older, we really need to use our brains to maintain a healthy, happy, and exciting sex life.

Take the time to understand your partner's brain and how it is different from yours. Accommodate those differences in your partner by offering them what they need for exciting sex and intimate connection. Take care of your mental and emotional health so that you can be fully available to give and respond to your partner. Use your imagination to create some excitement, novelty, and fun in your sex life. If you take care of your brain and keep it healthy, your body and your partner's will thank you in the morning.