Having more sex is good for the brains of older adults, according to a study.
Frequent sexual activity has been linked to higher cognitive function, including memory, language skills, and spatial and visual awareness, researchers have found.
A group of 73 people aged 50 to 83 took part in the tests measuring brain function and were also asked to complete a questionnaire about how often they were sexually active.
The tests included tasks such as naming as many animals as possible or as many words beginning with a certain letter and drawing a clock face from memory.
Researchers at Coventry and Oxford universities found that the ones who had the most sex scored highest in the tests.
The group who said they had sex weekly scored on average two percentage points higher than those who had it monthly and four points higher than those who never had sex.
The study was published in the The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological and Social Sciences.
