Even if you enjoy a good relationship you can still improve intimacy in your partner. Perhaps you have also wondered if you’re missing out on something extra in the bedroom. You may be part of a third of Americans who report dissatisfaction with their sex lives. People let life get in the way of their relationships. They experience too much stress for enjoyable sex, or simply lose interest in their routine.
Performance-Enhancing Drugs
A lackluster sex life can damage your relationship with your partner. It also impacts your self-esteem, and has a negative impact on your reproductive health. Unfortunately, many people head straight for performance-enhancing drugs. These may contain drugs which can be dangerous without a prescription. These drugs can cause circulatory issues because they increase blood flow to certain areas of the body.
In extreme cases and abuse they can lead to a heart attack or even death. However, you can still spice it up in the bedroom without resorting to these solutions. Check out these methods for naturally improving intimacy in your relationship.
Exercise and Intimacy
Surprisingly, one of the best ways to improve intimacy in the bedroom is to hit the gym. Not only does exercise provide health benefits like improved cardiovascular health, focus, and fitness, but you can also expect a boost of endorphins. Endorphins are produced when your body experiences stressors, like a mile-run or some deadlifts, and they combat cortisol, the body’s stress hormone. Too much cortisol can decrease your sex drive after a while, which may be why you’d rather use the bed for sleep after work rather than anything else.
Hit The Gym
Moderate exercise three times a week is more than enough to boost your endorphin levels and improve your sex drive. Cardio, like running or biking, is especially good because it improves your vascular system. This is a key factor in arousal. Hitting the gym with your partner is a great way to not only get into shape, but also rekindle a missing spark in the bedroom.
Yoga Improvements
In addition to more cardio-based exercises, you can also use strength exercise to boost your sex life: certain types of yoga are great for building your core and pelvic floor muscles, which are imperative to proper sexual function. Yoga regulates your breathing and attention. This naturally lowers your stress levels. Much like the endorphins produced during intense exercise, the relaxing properties of yoga will improve your ability to focus on your intimacy. Any form of exercise will make a difference in the bedroom, but yoga is perfect for both lowering your anxiety and improving your libido.
Sleep
Another lifestyle change that may help improve intimacy in your life involves your sleeping habits. If you are getting less than the recommended number of hours per night, you may be hindering your ability to get aroused. For every extra hour of sleep you receive, you increase your likelihood of sexual activity by 14%. This occurs because sleep is a major factor in your testosterone production. Testosterone has a big hand in your arousal levels. In addition, lack of sleep can also increase cortisone levels, which negatively impacts your sex drive. Getting enough sleep is imperative for a healthy life, but it also controls your sex life as well.
Healthy Sleeping Habits
Sleeping more doesn’t have to be hard. Begin by going to sleep at the same time every night, and make sure that your alarm doesn’t go off until 7 hours after your bedtime. Make your sleeping environment as comfortable as possible, with no light, low noise levels, and a cool temperature. Try not to eat heavy meals close to your bedtime to avoid late-night digestion. You can even try implementing the use of melatonin near your curfew to improve sleep quality.
Sharing A Bed
In addition, including your partner in a healthy sleeping pattern can also improve your relationship: studies have shown that sleeping near a loved one boosts your production of oxytocin, also known as the love hormone. As soon as you start catching more Z’s with your partner, you’ll see a noticeable difference in your sex life.
Diet to Improve Intimacy
Diet, much like exercise, impacts the secondary body systems which allow the reproductive system to do its magic. Maintaining a healthy, balanced diet is essential to arousal. People who are overweight may be affected by cultural stigma, but they also have to contend with higher cholesterol and sodium. Too high of cholesterol levels begin to impact blood flow, which is vital for sexual stimulation. The worse your blood flow is, the harder it is for blood to reach the tiny vessels located around the groin, which can drastically reduce sex drive.
Improve Intimacy Through Better Circulation
To reduce cholesterol and sodium, the two main culprits of vessel blockage follow a low-fat, low sodium diet with plenty of veggies and fruits for fiber. Omega-3 fatty acids, abundant in fish, help combat bad cholesterol, so consider following a more Mediterranean diet to improve intimacy and sexual satisfaction.
Vitamins and Supplements
Finally, there are some simple vitamins and supplements you may consider taking if you want a little boost in the bedroom. Foods rich in Vitamin B12, C and E, in addition to foods high in fiber and zinc, can increase the various hormones that make your reproductive system tick. Vitamin B12 and E improve blood circulation and overall cardiovascular health, while vitamin C and zinc improve testosterone hormone production. Before supplementing with vitamins, try eating foods containing vitamins for a more natural introduction. Spinach, salmon, citrus, seeds, and nuts are all great foods to start with when increasing your vitamin consumption.
Essential Oils Help Improve Intimacy
Another great, natural way to improve intimacy with your partner is through essential oils. Essential oils have been proven to reduce stress, improve mood, and decrease pain in certain situations. Studies have shown that humans exposed to the scent of lavender saw a significant decrease in the level of cortisone, which reduces stress as a result. In addition, clary sage oil has a healing effect on female hormones in addition to busting stress.
Photo credit: Kelly Sikkema Unsplash
Sensual Smells
We’ve already mentioned how important low cortisone-levels are for libido, and essential oils are a safe, natural way to make achieving a perfect sexual ambiance. Lavender and clary sage aren’t the only oils to have such an effect either; Several oils can be used to increase romantic ambiance when applied as a cologne or misted through a diffuser. Jasmine oil, rose oil, and ylang-ylang oil are some of the best aphrodisiac essential oils you can use tonight to spice things up. Here are some of the top oils and their benefits:
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Sandal-wood
- Sandal-wood oil applied through a carrier oil can increase your pulse, body temperature, and overall alertness, which makes for a greater likelihood of arousal.
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Ylang-ylang
- One study by the Universidade de São Paulo found that participants who applied Ylang-Ylang oil to their skin reported higher on a self-esteem scale than participants who applied placebo. People who have a lower perception of their body and appearance generally report lower sex drives, so the oil that improves self-image can improve your confidence and attitude towards sex dramatically.
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Jasmine
- Similarly to sandal-wood, jasmine oil also causes increased heart-rate and temperature when applied topically through a carrier oil. These physiological effects increase vigor and alertness, which will also enhance any sexual arousal you may experience with your partner.
Next time you set up a romantic evening or date, consider applying some sexy essential oils instead of your normal perfume and see how much friskier you feel. You can also set up a diffuser in your bedroom to create a pleasant, arousing scent. If you dilute your pure essential oils with a carrier oil, you can warm the oil between your hands, then rub it into the skin of your partner for the most potent effect. Make sure that you’re following recommended amounts, as too much oil concentration can cause skin irritation. Essential oils are the perfect way to spice up your next date night.
Stress Management
As mentioned before, high stress levels can take a toll on your libido. In addition to diet, exercise, and the use of essential oils, there are also some simple steps you can take to limit your stress levels while also getting close to your partner.
● Do more activities together
Stress relief doesn’t have to be a prospect you face alone: performing activities with your partner has proven benefits in terms of both stress management and in terms of a healthy relationship. Next time you need a date idea, try working out with your partner. Go for a walk, or try out a new sport together. Physical and mental activity will bring down your stress levels, which will make getting aroused easier, and you’ll also gain a closer bond to your partner, resulting in better sex.
● Meditate
Meditation is a fast and easy way to bring down stress. Simply bringing awareness to your mental state and relieving your head of thoughts can drastically increase your brain’s ability to produce endorphins. This will relieve stress. When you begin feeling anxiety, you need to take a hold on your sex life. Sit still, close your eyes, and focus on your breath for 10 minutes.
● Ask for help
There’s no shame in needing a little help from time to time. Whether you ask for help from your partner, a friend, or a trained professional, getting some assistance can aid you in the fight against sex-killing stress. One way you can get some stress relief is by asking your coworkers: 25% of Americans view their job as the biggest stressor in their life, so delegating some more of your work tasks to other coworkers may be necessary to get to a healthy level of stress.
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Cut Unhealthy Substances
Another way your sex life could be suffering involves the use of harmful substances. Alcohol, tobacco, and even marijuana have a negative impact on your ability to get aroused. Abuse of any of these substances damages the systems that are integral to your reproductive system, killing any chance of getting lucky.
Effects Of Alcohol And Smoking
Alcohol is a depressant, so overdoing the booze will reduce your blood flow rate, making an erection much more difficult to achieve. In fact, tobacco and alcohol usage are the two main culprits for long-term erectile dysfunction. Any substance abuse is dangerous for all aspects of your health, and the effect they have on your reproductive system is no different. If you want to immediately improve bedroom performance, cutting down on alcohol and smoking is a great place to start.
The Bottom Line
There are tons of ways to improve intimacy with your partner and increase your libido without resorting to dangerous, non-FDA approved drugs. Begin by targeting your physical life by cutting down on dangerous substances, increasing your exercise and healthy eating habits, and getting better quality sleep. You can also supplement your sex life with essential oils for a sexy boost.
