Welcome to the Podiatry Arena forums, for communication between foot health professionals about podiatry and related topics.
You are currently viewing our podiatry forum as a guest which gives you limited access to view all podiatry discussions and access our other features. By joining our free global community of Podiatrists and other interested foot health care professionals you will have access to post podiatry topics (answer and ask questions), communicate privately with other members (PM), upload content, view attachments, receive a weekly email update of new discussions, earn CPD points and access many other special features. Registered users do not get displayed the advertisments in posted messages. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our global Podiatry community today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact contact us.
Reuters are reporting: Sex calms nerves before public speaking: study
Quote:
Forget pretending you are talking to one person or concentrating on a single point in the audience - having sex is good way to calm nerves before giving a speech or presentation.
But Stuart Brody, a psychologist at the University of Paisley in Scotland says it has to be full sexual intercourse to get the best results.
He studied nearly 50 men and women who recorded their sexual activities for two weeks and analysed its impact on their blood pressure levels when under acute stress, such as when giving a speech.
He discovered the volunteers who had sexual intercourse were the least stressed and had blood pressure levels that returned to normal more quickly than people who engaged in other types of sex.
But people who had abstained from sex had the highest blood pressure response to stress.
Even after taking into account stress due to work or other factors, the range of responses to stress were best explained by sexual behaviour.
"The effects are not attributable simply to the short-term relief afforded by orgasm but rather, endure for at least a week," he told New Scientist magazine.
He believes the release of the so-called "pair bonding" hormone oxytocin might explain the calming effect.
The BBC have got in on the act as well: Sex 'cuts public speaking stress'
Quote:
Forget learning lines or polishing jokes - having sex may be the best way to prepare for giving a speech.
New Scientist magazine reports that Stuart Brody, a psychologist at the University of Paisley, found having sex can help keep stress at bay.
However, only heterosexual intercourse did the trick - other forms of sex had no impact on stress levels at all.
Professor Brody monitored how various forms of sex affected blood pressure levels in a stressful situation.
For a fortnight, 24 women and 22 men kept diaries of how often they engaged in various forms of sex.
Then they underwent a stress test involving public speaking and performing mental arithmetic out loud.
Volunteers who had had heterosexual intercourse were found to be the least stressed, and their blood pressure returned to normal faster than those who had engaged in other forms of sexual activity.
Those who abstained from any form of sexual activity at all had the highest blood pressure response to stress.
Dr Brody found that the effect remained even after taking differences in personality and other health-related factors into account.
Nerves stimulated He told the BBC News website it was possible the calming effect was linked to the stimulation of a wide variety of nerves which takes place during heterosexual intercourse, but not other forms of sex.
In particular, the vagal nerve plays a role in controlling some psychological processes.
In addition, the release of the hormone oxytocin during sex might have a calming effect.
Professor Brody said it made sense in evolutionary terms for standard heterosexual sexual intercourse to be associated with a wide range of positive effects on behaviour.
He said: "A growing body of research shows that it is specifically intercourse, and not other sexual behaviours, whether alone or with a partner, that is associated with a broad range of psychological and physiological benefits.
"And greater frequency of intercourse is associated with greater benefits."
But Dr Peter Bull, a social and political psychologist at the University of York, said there were other ways to prepare for a speech that were more likely to reduce stress.
He said: "You are probably better off thinking about what you are going to say, and preparing thoroughly, rather than having sex the previous night."
Sex calms nerves before public speaking
Linear Mode
