While you may have used a headache as an excuse to get out of sex in the past, researchers say you've got it the wrong way around. According to an article in the Telegraph, a team of German neurologists has found that sex can actually cure a migraine headache in some sufferers.
In a study published in the journal of the International Headache Society, researchers from the University of Munster went so far as to suggest that the next time a headache strikes, you reach for your mate instead of a painkiller.
In more than half of migraine sufferers, it was found that sex mitigated the effects of a migraine, with one five sufferers entirely relieved of symptoms.
The way it works: sex triggers the body's natural painkillers, known as endorphins, thereby reducing or even alleviating the headache. In fact, sex has a myriad health benefits.
“Our results show that sexual activity during a migraine attack might relieve or even stop an attack in some cases, and that sexual activity in the presence of headache is not an unusual behaviour. Sex can abort migraine and cluster headache attacks, and sexual activity is used by some patients as acute headache treatment.”
As a migraine sufferer, I foresee a problem. Namely, when you are overcome with an attack, the urge to have sex or even move is often the last thing on your mind.
Might be just me but the combination of a nauseous stomach, blinding auras, and the jackhammer steadily pounding into my brain have a habit of killing the mood. As for stress relief or a preventative measure, maybe. But I'm not sure about using sex in the heat of the moment, as therapy.
Of the 800 migraine sufferers surveyed, two thirds reported an improvement in their symptoms following sexual activity, while a third claimed the headache had worsened.
If you've had sex in the midst of a migraine or cluster headache, did it improve—or worsen—your symptoms?
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