More than the number it is good sex that helps in adding ten more years to a person`s life.

In fact, researchers at the University of California, San Diego have found that satisfying sex can make one live a high quality life even at his 80`s.

The study by researchers at the Stein Institute for Research on Aging at the University of California, San Diego finds that successful aging and positive quality of life indicators correlate with sexual satisfaction in older women.

The report, published online in a recent edition of the Journal of the American Geriatric Society, also shows that self-rated successful aging, quality of life and sexual satisfaction appear to be stable even in the face of decline in physical health of women between the ages of 60 and 89.

The study looked at 1,235 women enrolled at the San Diego site of the Women`s Health Initiative (WHI) study, a major ongoing research program funded by the National Institutes of Health which, since 1993, has addressed causes of death, disability and quality of life in more than 160,000 generally healthy, post-menopausal women.

The researchers had divided the participants into various age groups that varied between 60 to 69, 70 to 79 and 80 to 89.

At the end of the study, researchers found that 61 percent of women who belong to the age group of 80s were satisfied with their sex life.

A recent report published in an Indian news daily`s online version also showed how sexual satisfaction of a person is directly linked with longevity.

Regular sex can help in improving the hormone levels and brain power of a person, said a TNN report.

Orgasm can also increase the immune system of a person and help in raising the infection-fighting cells by up to 20 per cent.

Cuddling boosts longevity of a person and those people who are in a relationship are less prone to chronic diseases and even depression.

Satisfying sex can keep the heart, hormones and brain of a person in top condition.

The risk of heart attack or stroke is reduced by 50 percent in case of those men who get involved in physical relationships at least three times or more in a week.

Regular sex releases endorphins at any age and thus helps one feel good and also keeps stress away to a great extent.

Good sex helps in burning extra calories and even increases blood circulation. It provides the human body with most of the benefits that it can gain through regular exercise.

At least 20 minutes of moderately active sex can burn 30 calories and even increase the metabolism of the body.

Interestingly, sex also fights against the problem of osteoporosis in case of women.

It has been found that middle-aged women who have weekly sex have twice the bone-protecting oestrogen levels in comparison to women who do not have it such regularly.

Source: IBNS
Image: Flickr/creativecommons robboudon