Friday 28 February 2014

6 Reasons Women Fake Orgasms

In (uncomfortably relatable) sex news, researchers identified a whopping six different reasons that women fake orgasms, according to a pair of surveys of over 350 women, published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior. Even weirder (slash, more interesting): their reasons differ based on whether they're faking it during oral sex or penetration. Oh!

During penetrative intercourse, women tend to fake it for four main reasons:  to avoid hurting their partner's feelings; because they feel insecure about having an orgasm; to speed things up and end the sex ASAP; and as an attempt to increase their own arousal (sort of a fake-it-'til-you-make-it approach—hey, whatever works!).  

Chore Wars: How the Division of Domestic Duties Really Affects a Couple’s Sex Life

Are women less attracted to men who do more domestic chores? Or are men who share equally in the workload at home more appealing to a generation of stressed wives who are juggling family responsibilities and more work hours than ever?
It’s not a new debate, but it is one that has resurfaced recently thanks to a series of articles about stay-at-home fathers and a feature this month in the New York Times magazine by writer and psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb in which she suggests that that equality is turning us off. She writes: “In an attempt to become gender neutral, we may have become gender neutered.”

Why Guys Say Things on Social Media That They Won't Say to You

Alexandra Sifferlin for Time.com

Here's a scenario you might recognize if you're a woman dating a social media butterfly: You're sitting on the couch together silently watching TV. When you take a moment to peek at your Twitter feed, you see your significant other has been sharing a stream of personal thoughts about House of Cards with the Twitterverse—even though he hasn't uttered a word to you.

The Major Benefit of a Vegetarian Diet

Chock this up to one of the many reasons you should make an effort to eat more veggies: A vegetarian (or even flexitarian) diet may help lower your blood pressure, according to a new meta-analysis of more than a century’s worth of clinical trials and observational studies.

Researchers from various universities and medical facilities in Japan and the U.S. teamed up to pore over the vast amount of existing data on the relationship between a vegetarian diet and its effects on blood pressure. In addition to dietary info, researchers looked at study participants’ systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings—i.e., the ratio-like stat your doctor gives you at checkups, measured in millimeters of mercury. (A healthy BP is 120/80.)

Another Amazing Perk of Red Wine

Wine is packed with antioxidants. You know this and probably revel in it on the regular (as you should). Here's one more reason why: A new study in Cancer Cell International shows those antioxidants may block the growth of lung cancer—the most deadly type of cancer.

Researchers from Brock University and McMaster University in Ontario studied the effects of various types of wine—Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Riesling—on non-small cell lung cancer cells, the most common form of lung cancer.

Saturday 22 February 2014

7 Sex Upgrades for Your Bed

The whole "twin  bed with threadbare sheets" thing may have worked in college, but you’re out of the frat house now—which means your bedroom needs to grow up, too. “Surrounding yourself with warmth and luxury is a catalyst for sex—an aphrodisiac, even,” says Cathy Hobbs, an interior designer in New York City. “It’s the difference between being at Motel 6 and the Four Seasons.”

Make your bedroom a place where women want to jump between the sheets—and stay there—with these seven tips. Then hang up the “Do Not Disturb” sign and get busy.

Make Any Exercise Harder

If you want  to make an exercise harder, add weight. If you want to make your whole body work harder while performing an exercise, change your stance. "Altering the way you place your feet on the ground forces you to use more stabilizing muscles, which compounds the challenge of the move,"says Bruce Mack, co-founder of Thrive Training Systems.

Working your stabilizing muscles strengthens your core, which will help you move heavier loads in the future, Mack says. He suggests advancing your stance for standard exercises like the biceps curl. While foot placement won't increase the stress on your biceps, stabilizing yourself will strengthen muscles in addition to those in your arms. The result: a bigger calorie burn and a greater total body strength-building effect.

How Your Job Can Save Your Sex Life

When it comes  to work, you dress well, hold your emotions in check, and (usually) show up on time. But most of us don’t apply those same standards to our romantic relationships. And that’s a problem, shows research from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

That said, there’s a fine line when it comes to treating your wife or girlfriend like you treat your boss and coworkers. Extending certain work practices to your private life, though, can significantly lower the amount of emotional strain and conflict you and your partner experience. It could even score you more sex.  Here, five ways to get there.

Can Success Make You Miserable?

When you think  of Olympic gold medalists, you think of success—and with that, happiness.A lifestyle of victories and workouts—endorphins flooding and fresh air—coupled with exotic travel. It sounds great.

But is it?

In a recent study of elite athletes, German researchers found that 15 percent suffered from depression. Pros who reported higher levels of stress and self-pity scored even higher on a depression test.

Wednesday 12 February 2014

4 Things You Think Turn Her On—That Don't

Your girlfriend's libido
  doesn't just have an on/off switch. She requires a slow build—which means there's plenty of time for mistakes. And no matter how well you think you know her hot buttons, there's a good chance a few moves in your repertoire are actually squelching her sex drive. "Men often assume women are turned on by the same things they are," says Brandy Engler, Ph.D., a Los Angeles-based sex therapist and author of The Men on My Couch. That's your first misstep—and unfortunately, it can lead to many more.  

Is Lube Hurting Your Sperm?

KY may K.O. your sperm. Motility—one measure of sperm quality that has to do with your swimmers’ ability to find and fertilize your partner’s egg—is significantly hampered by sex lubricants, according to a new study from the State University of New York Upstate Medical University. 
From Astroglide to KY, most of the lubricants tested decreased sperm quality by 20 percent or more within 30 minutes. One variety of KY—the “Tingling” type—lowered sperm motility by more than 75 percent, the study shows. The good news: None of the sperm-slowing effects of lubricants persist if you stop using them, the research shows. 

While decreased motility doesn’t guarantee you won’t get your partner pregnant, when you drop below 50 percent motility, you’re going to have a tough time, explains Lauren Streicher, M.D., a gynecologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and author of the upcoming Love Sex Again, which devotes an entire chapter to lubricants. So if you are trying to conceive, stick with brands like Pre-Seed, which only lowered motility by about 1 percent in the study—an "insignificant" amount, says Dr. Streicher. 
 
And if you're not looking to make babies, know that Astroglide won’t replace condoms anytime soon. While lubes hurt sperm motility, “all it takes is one sperm making it to the egg,” Streicher reiterates. Stick with condoms from proven brands like Durex, Trojan, and Lifestyle—they are still your best safeguard against STDs and unwanted pregnancy, according to a Consumer Reports analysis.  
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Screw This! Lift More!

A lot of
  things may run through your head when you're performing a squat: the number of remaining reps, the sweat trickling down your back, the girl on the treadmill. But you probably don't think about your feet. "That's a mistake," says Nick Murtha, a coach for Thrive Training Systems and CEO of Elevate Fitness in Miami Lakes, Florida. "You can instantly increase your gains by 'screwing' your feet into the floor."