Why the first time is important and more sex news

Welcome to the sex and health news round up where we bring you the latest from in-between the sheets.

The first time really is important, as researchers claim that the quality of your first sexual experience colours your sex life for years to come.

Specifically, those who felt loved and respected by their partner found later encounters more emotionally satisfying.

The study, Gone But Not Forgotten, is one of the first to look at whether the circumstances in which someone loses their virginity have lasting consequences, the Daily Mail reported.

The US researchers asked 331 young men and women about how they lost their virginity, including whether they felt scared, pressured, guilty or regretful.

They were also asked about how connected they felt to their partner, including whether they felt respected and loved, and how they felt afterwards.

The volunteers, who answered the questions anonymously, were then asked to fill in an online diary detailing any sexual experiences they had over the next fortnight.

They were also asked how they would rate their sexual relationships overall.

In more than two-thirds of cases, the volunteers said they were in a relationship when they lost their virginity.

Analysis of their answers showed that those who were most emotionally satisfied the first time still found their sex lives the most fulfilling. The same was true of physical satisfaction.

A better first time also tended to lead to fewer feelings of disappointment.

The study is published in the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy.

Cialis, the erectile dysfunction (ED) drug, may also be beneficial in helping men who have problems with ejaculation and orgasm, say researchers.

Cialis is currently approved for the treatment of ED, benign prostate hypertrophy (BPH) and for treatment of men with both conditions.

A study by researchers from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, concluded that approximately 70 percent of men who used Cialis during sexual activity for 12 weeks were able to ejaculate most of the time and to reach orgasm, compared to 30 percent in the placebo group. Also, these benefits from the drug were seen despite the level of a man''s ED severity.

"There are many men who have, at most, very mild problems achieving an erection but who cannot easily ejaculate," said the study''s lead author, Dr. Darius Paduch, a urologist and male sexual medicine specialist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell and director of Sexual Health and Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College.

"Our study shows Cialis works very well for these men with problems ejaculating," he added.

In this new study, Dr. Paduch and his colleagues examined data from 17 placebo-controlled 12-week trials of Cialis, given at different doses. These studies included 3,581 participants with a mean age of 54.9, including 1,512 men with severe ejaculatory dysfunction (EJD) and 1,812 with severe orgasmic dysfunction (OD). In some cases, patients with one or both of these conditions reported only mild or moderate ED.

The researchers examined the study participants'' responses on questionnaires about the effect Cialis had on ED, EJD, and OD, among other measures of sexual satisfaction. The original questionnaire was primarily focused on the effects of Cialis on ED, but provided valuable additional information.

They found that treatment with Cialis (10 or 20 milligrams taken as needed) was associated with significant increase in ejaculatory and orgasmic function across all levels of severity of ED, EJD and OD, compared to use of a placebo agent.

For example, 66 percent of men with severe EJD and 66 percent with severe OD who used Cialis reported improved ejaculatory function, compared with 36 percent and 35 percent, respectively, in the placebo group. Also, patients with moderate dysfunction also experienced significant improvements with Cialis, Dr. Paduch reported.

"More study is needed, but we are hopeful our findings may lead to a treatment for many men who cannot now achieve sexual satisfaction," Dr. Paduch said.

The finding has been reported in the February issue of the British Journal of Urology International.

According to a new study, married men and women who divide household chores in traditional ways report having more sex than couples who share so-called men's and women's work.

Other studies have found that husbands got more sex if they did more housework, implying that sex was in exchange for housework. But those studies did not factor in what types of chores the husbands were doing.

The new study co-authored by sociologists at the University of Washington showed that sex isn't a bargaining chip. Instead, sex is linked to what types of chores each spouse completes.

Couples who follow traditional gender roles around the house -- wives doing the cooking, cleaning and shopping; men doing yard work, paying bills and auto maintenance -- reported greater sexual frequency.

"The results show that gender still organizes quite a bit of everyday life in marriage. In particular, it seems that the gender identities husbands and wives express through the chores they do also help structure sexual behavior," said co-author Julie Brines, a UW associate professor of sociology.

Husbands shouldn't take these findings as justification for not cooking, cleaning, shopping or performing other traditionally female household tasks, warned lead author Sabino Kornrich, a former UW graduate student who is now a researcher at the Juan March Institute in Madrid.

"Men who refuse to help around the house could increase conflict in their marriage and lower their wives' marital satisfaction," she noted.

The findings come from a national survey of about 4,500 heterosexual married U.S. couples participating in the National Survey of Families and Households. The data were collected from 1992 to 1994, the most recent large-scale survey available that measured sexual frequency in married couples. Brines said that it is unlikely that the division of housework – which did not include child care in this study -- and sex have changed much since then.

The researchers found that husbands, average age 46, and wives, average age 44, spent a combined 34 hours a week on traditionally female chores. Couples spent an additional 17 hours a week on chores usually thought of as men's work.

Husbands performed about one-fifth of traditionally female tasks and a little more than half of the male-type work. This suggests that wives help out with men's chores more often than husbands help with female tasks.

Men and women reported having sex about five times, on average, in the month prior to the survey. But marriages in which the wife does all the traditionally female tasks reported having had sex about 1.6 times more per month than those where the husband does all the traditionally female chores.

The study has been published in the February issue of the journal American Sociological Review.

The idea that sex burns calories is nothing more than a myth, according to a new study.

Dr David Allison, associate dean for science in the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and his team have identified seven obesity-related myths that they said were not scientifically-backed by evidence.

One myth the researchers busted was that losing lots of weight rapidly might cause the weight to come back one day, whereas slow, gradual weight loss will accumulate over time to produce longer-lasting changes.

The researchers found evidence that people who lose more weight rapidly are more likely to weigh less, even after several years, CBS News reported.

The oft-told advice that people should set realistic weight loss goals or else they'll become frustrated and not lose weight is a myth, according to the study, which cited data that people may actually do better with more ambitious goals.

Other major myths busted include the idea that breast-feeding may reduce a child''s risk for obesity.

While breast-feeding may offer benefits to both mom and baby, evidence does not suggest preventing obesity is one of them, the researchers said.

It is said that having sex is just like exercise, and can cause people to lose 300 calories.

But the researchers said people would be lucky to burn one-twentieth of that during sex, which offers about the same calorie expenditure from sitting on a couch.

For example, a 154-pound man in his early-to-mid 30s who has sex for six minutes will expend about 21 calories during intercourse, they wrote.

Their results are published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Turning down an intimate night of passion with a woman to watch soap operas, may not rest easy in some households.
 
But it seems men are just as likely as women to make up excuses for not having sex -- blaming the weather or being too busy watching EastEnders, a new survey has revealed.
 
The research found that 60 per cent of men have told their partner they are too tired for sex, while nearly half said they were not in the mood, the Daily Mail reported.
 
However the survey of nearly 2,000 people also found that 7 per cent of men stated that they never get an erection any more -- and many may be avoiding sex to hide their erectile dysfunction.
 
Furthermore, just 16 per cent of women realise that their partners have been affected by erectile dysfunction, according to the poll by Lloyds Pharmacy Online Doctor.
 
Other excuses dreamed up by men to avoid sex included being put off by peeping cats and dogs, being too busy playing the computer game 'Call of Duty', and being too full after a large meal.
 
However, medics warned that, in reality, the reason could be down to the fact that a quarter of men admit they have been affected by erectile dysfunction at some point in their lifetime.
 
The research, released to mark the broadcast of the first UK TV advert to promote an erectile dysfunction service, highlights how much pressure men can put themselves under in the bedroom.
 
Almost a fifth of the men surveyed (17 per cent) said that they thought being unable to get an erection immediately after starting sexual activity signified a problem.
 
Half of the men said that anything between one and five minutes could be a sign of erectile dysfunction.
 
Nearly one in four men said that they no longer have sex at all, a figure that increases to 42 per cent for those aged over 55.
 
Although 47 per cent of men said they would turn to a medical professional in their time of need and 24 per cent would talk to their partners, there still seemed to be some reluctance to broach the subject of erectile dysfunction.
 
21 per cent of men said that they wouldn't feel comfortable talking to anyone about the condition.
 
Despite many people believing that erectile dysfunction is most likely to affect men aged 56 to 65, Lloydspharmacy Online Doctor, Dr Tom Brett said: "Erectile dysfunction can affect any man at any stage in his life, but it doesn't have to mean the end of intimacy."

Condom company Durex has launched a new app and service in Dubai that discreetly delivers condoms within an hour.

The service provides one with a facility to order a condom delivery man from Durex' new SOS website or iPhone app, available in Dubai, with the delivery made by someone dressed in disguise -- possibly as a pizza man -- to ensure privacy, the New York Daily News reported.

The delivery man slyly slips one the goods without one's date noticing.

After downloading the app or via the Durex SOS website, users can order condoms between 4 pm and 4 am, anywhere within Dubai.

The service aims to expand to other countries as well, with Durex launching a Facebook campaign to spread the word.

A strong friendship is the secret to a long-lasting romantic relationship, a new study suggests.
 
Researchers found that valuing your friendship with your partner helps create relationships with more commitment, more love and greater sexual satisfaction, the Daily Mail reported.
 
People who put more emphasis on trying to satisfy their personal needs or desires through their relationship are less likely to sustain the bond in the longer term.
 
"Romantic relationships are, at their core, friendships," study's lead author Laura VanderDrift, of Purdue University in Indiana said.
 
"As such, it may be the case that valuing that aspect of the relationship fortifies the romantic relationship ... and serves as a buffer against breaking up.The results indicate that valuing the friendship aspect of a romantic relationship is important to relationship quality.
 
"It seems likely that placing greater importance on the friendship component of the relationship relative to other components (e.g. sex) may promote lasting relationships," she said.
 
The psychologists wrote that relationship failures can lead to negative emotions, feelings of insecurity and reduced physical health.
 
But they added that friendship is a "defining characteristic of love" and suggested that understanding the causes of break ups could help couples avoid that fate.
 
The findings are published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.

It was a huge sacrifice for a guy from Melbourne dubbed by his friends a ladies' man to pass a whole year without sex.
Pete Lynagh's pledge shocked his flatmate so much he bet him 2000 dollars he would fail.

But the 32-year-old was serious. Sick of meaningless one-night stands and the relentless weekend pursuit of women, it was time to try abstinence.

"I've been single for the last year and I'm just over going out and running wild and picking up," Stuff.co.nz quoted him as saying.

"Probably a bit of me wants to settle down and find the right girl and it will help me to start connecting with women in a non-sexual way, just take it off the agenda so I can get to know them better," he said.

The charismatic boxing instructor -- who estimates the longest he's gone without sex before is two months -- gave it up on January 1, vowing not to indulge again until at least the first day of 2014.

But just as Hollywood heart-throb Josh Hartnett discovered in the movie 40 Days and 40 Nights, in which he abstains from any sexual contact for Lent, temptation is everywhere.

In Lynagh's boxing classes he predominantly trains young, fit women, and, as a DJ, he finds attention from women hard to ignore.

But he's adamant he will see the year out sex-free. For him, 12 months of chastity is more than just a break from chasing girls.

His goal is to raise 100,000 dollars for Free to Shine, a charity that rescues children from sex slavery in Cambodia and provides them with education scholarships.

Northern Irish-born Lynagh is recording his year-long sexless odyssey through his "Pete's Chastity for Charity" Facebook page with weekly video diaries.

He already sponsors an 11-year-old girl who has been saved from the sex trade and he hopes his abstinence will raise money to build a school for others like her.

Flatmate Marty Gebert, who donated his 2000 dollars bet to the charity, set the guidelines and says initially kissing was off the menu.

"I wanted to punish him because I was annoyed that I'd lost my best wing man, so I said no kissing, no licking, no sucking, no touching, nothing sexual related to girls, guys, animals, anything that's remotely sexual," he said.

"Then we started debating the rules and I thought I was being a little bit unfair. He might meet the girl of his dreams next month. If he can't passionately kiss her he's got nothing to keep her interested. But if they truly connect with a passionate kiss then surely there's a good chance she's going to hang around for this long year," he said.

So kissing, holding hands and cuddling are allowed, and, although Lynagh insists it hasn't increased in frequency since his sex ban, "self love" is also permitted.

Instead of focusing on bedroom pursuits he is trying to harness his pent-up sexual energy by channelling it into creativity, yoga and meditation.

Nearly half of older teenagers and young adults break up and get back together with previous dating partners and over half of this group have sex as part of the reconciliation process, a new study has found.

Researchers Sarah Halpern-Meekin, Wendy Manning, Peggy Giordano and Monica Longmore studied data on 792 daters and cohabiters ages 17 to 24, also known as "emerging adults."

They studied two relationship patterns specifically -- reconciliation with an ex, or breaking up and getting back together, and "sex with an ex," when couples break up, yet remain sexually involved.

It was found that approximately 44 percent of emerging adults who had been in a romantic relationship in the past two years had experienced at least one reconciliation with an ex romantic partner and 53 percent of those who reported reconciliations also reported having sex with their ex.

Additionally, racial minorities in particular were even more likely to experience reconciliation or sexual relationships with previous romantic partners.

The researchers discussed the implications of reconciliations with previous romantic partners: "Emerging adults who reconcile may be prone to a behavior pattern that involves cycling through relationship formation... Furthermore, having sex with an ex may be problematic because former partners can have difficulty moving on from an old relationship or building new romantic attachments."

This study was recently published in the Journal of Adolescent Research, a SAGE journal.

American men and women rated sex as highly arousing and pleasurable whether or not condoms and/or lubricants were used, a study has revealed.

Condoms and lubricants are commonly used by both women and men when they have sex.

Led by Debby Herbenick, PhD, MPH and Michael Reece, PhD, MPH, of the School of Public Health-Bloomington, Indiana University, researchers reviewed a nationally representative study of men and women in the United States ages 18-59 to assess characteristics of condom and lubricant use during participants' most recent sexual event, and the relationship of their condom and lubricant use to their ratings of sexual quality.

Data were from the 2009 National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior, which involved the administration of an online questionnaire to a nationally representative probability sample of the US adults.

Results showed that men and women consistently rate sex as highly arousing and pleasurable with few differences based on condom or lubricant use. More than twice as many women were unsure whether the condom was lubricated or from what material it was made.

"This may be because men are more likely than women to purchase condoms and to apply condoms," said Dr Herbenick.

"However, it's important for more women to become familiar with the condoms they use with their partner so that they can make choices that enhance the safety and pleasure of their sexual experiences," she added.

Additionally, no significant differences were found in regard to men's ratings of the ease of their erections based on condom and lubricant use.

The study appeared in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.

An Australian study has found that men with erectile dysfunction have a higher risk of hospital admission for heart disease, even if they have no history of heart problems and are also at greater risk of premature death from any cause.

The research, from the Sax Institute's 45 and Up Study, is the first to show a direct link between how severe a man's erection problem is and his risk of dying early or being treated in hospital for heart disease.

"The risks of future heart disease and premature death increased steadily with severity of erectile dysfunction, both in men with and without a history of cardiovascular disease," lead author and 45 and Up Study Scientific Director Professor Emily Banks said.

"Rather than causing heart disease, erectile dysfunction is more likely to be a symptom or signal of underlying 'silent' heart disease and could in future become a useful marker to help doctors predict the risk of a cardiovascular problem. This is a sensitive topic but men shouldn't suffer in silence; there are many effective treatments, both for erectile dysfunction and for cardiovascular disease," she stated.

Erection problems are very common: around one in five men aged 40 and over report moderate or severe erectile dysfunction.

While previous studies have shown that men with severe erectile dysfunction are more likely than men with no erectile difficulties to have cardiovascular events such as heart disease or stroke, this study is the first to review gradients of erectile dysfunction from none, to mild, moderate and severe forms.

The researchers, from the Sax Institute, Australian National University, The University of Sydney, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute and The George Institute for Global Health examined hospital and death records for 95,000 men from the 45 and Up Study -- the largest ongoing study of healthy ageing in the Southern Hemisphere, with more than 250,000 people taking part.

"We found men with erectile dysfunction were at higher risk of heart attack, heart failure, peripheral vascular disease and heart conduction problems," Professor Banks said.

The results of the study have been published in international journal PLOS Medicine.