Wellness is an everyday commitment
The benefits of routine
Humans thrive when our bodies and minds are in good condition, and it’s difficult to take good care of ourselves without some level of structure and organization.
Written out like that - it doesn’t sound like much fun. Many of us pride ourselves on being easygoing and not rigid with our routines. But odds are, you already have a number of routines throughout your life that you stick to without thinking.
Those routines that you don’t think about? They’re crucial to maintaining your mental and physical health.
Routines help us with:
- Better stress management - lowering your risk of heart disease
- Good sleep - leaving us refreshed and ready to do the day
- Physical health - regular exercise and even scheduled doctor’s appointments are all supporting players in different types of routine.
Chances are, you have, in some form or another, a routine for your medical care, a routine for your meals, a routine for exercise, a routine for your skin. Even a routine for your hair.
These are things that you make a point to do because you’ve decided that they’re important to you. Some of these practices might seem more necessary because other people see the results. People see our hair, people see our skin. Or our society tells us it’s important - we’re told to eat well and exercise by every doctor from the time we’re kids.
But usually, the only people that see or know anything about our sexual wellness are ourselves and maybe a partner or doctor. And since sexual wellness has been a taboo topic in society for a long time, there’s less of a societal push for us to take care of it.
As a result, to many of us, sexual wellness can seem less important than other aspects of our holistic health. Unless you’ve made sexual wellness into a dedicated routine, it’s likely that you don’t tend to it as much as you need to - especially if sexual activity is uncomfortable or painful to begin with. Sexual wellness is a huge part of our overall health, and it’s important to give ourselves the time we need to address it with love and care.
Benefits of a sexual wellness routine
Neglecting our sexual health can happen at any time in life - after a traumatic life event, during periods of chronic pain, after pregnancy, during menopause. It can also happen out of disinterest in the activity of sex or masturbation itself.
However, even through all those life stages, we still know that we have to take care of our bodies. The area of the body that is associated with sex is still an area of our body that we need to intentionally care for. And doing so has incredible health benefits.
Sexual activity of any kind usually engages the pelvic floor muscles, which helps strengthen these muscles and helps prevent certain types of incontinence.
Both the vagina and the clitoris are prone to atrophy with aging and lack of stimulation. This atrophy can lead to discomfort, pain (not just pain during sex - this pain can be chronic), and loss of sensation.
Vaginal stimulation can soothe chronic pain, and stimulation of the clitoris can reduce period cramps, arthritic pain, and even headaches. Not only that, but regular sexual activity can improve vaginal lubrication, which helps reduce the pain brought on by dryness.
Whether you orgasm or not, feelings of sexual arousal release chemicals that promote a sense of well being and confidence. Over time, this can help reduce levels of depression and anxiety.
Regular sexual activity is linked to better body confidence, and better self confidence on the whole. If you’re having sex with a partner, regular sex can help you strengthen your connection, which can lead to better confidence in the relationship.
It turns out that more sex makes you want more sex!
How to start
Movies and TV paint sex as a wild, passionate experience that only happens in the heat of the moment. Can you imagine if that’s how they portrayed doing a face mask or brushing your teeth?
Obviously, sexual activity is a little bit more charged than skin care. But the media versions of intercourse and masturbation can be intimidating and off-putting.
So start slow. Pick 2 to 3 nights a week to get to know yourself. Maybe take a bath or put on a face mask. And then turn your attention to your sexual wellness (we’d recommend with the help of lubricant and a personal massager).
The process of stimulation is therapeutic with or without an orgasm, so don’t pressure yourself. If it doesn’t immediately feel like fireworks, that is more than okay. You know the feeling of gently massaging a beautiful, high quality skin cream into your cheeks? Let the experience of caring for your sexual wellness be as meditative as caring for your skin.
As your body and mind start to feel the benefits of regular sexual activity, you might just find yourself booking in more nights to care for your sexual wellness.
Sources:
https://www.ohsu.edu/womens-health/benefits-healthy-sex-life
https://www.nm.org/healthbeat/healthy-tips/health-benefits-of-having-a-routine
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/make_exercise_a_part_of_your_routine
