How Lifestyle Choices Can Affect Sexual Health

To answer this question, we must first understand the definition of two factors:

Sexual health

The World Health Organization defines the term as a state of emotional, physical, mental, spiritual, and social well-being that relates to a person’s sexuality; It involved a pragmatic approach to sexuality and sexuality, along with many moral and ethical decision-making factors. However, it excluded physical and hormonal dysfunctions and the absence of disease conditions.

I would like to highlight that this definition was (in recent years) updated by the CHAC (a sub-specialized department of the CDC) to focus on a person’s health. In addition, cited by SMSNA (North American Society of Sexual Medicine)

“Sexual health makes a difference! It is an important part of your overall health and well-being. Health conditions that affect your sexual function – directly or indirectly – can have a huge impact on your overall health and well-being.”

As a physician member of this society, I would like to include in the above definitions disease prevention and care along with other physical, hormonal, and medical conditions that are also important factors in sexual health adaptation.

Lifestyle options

Google sources use the following phrases for this definition:

• Decisions to increase or decrease one’s personal well-being.
• Making the right decisions to engage in the right behaviors, which in turn enhances quality of life and disease prevention.
• The method of behavior that follows a person’s tastes, attitudes, and values.

As a physician specializing in holistic osteopathic medicine and obesity medicine, the importance of lifestyle choices in relation to my health has become clear to me and is practical in improving the lives of my patients. Over the course of my 20-year career in the above sub-characteristics, I have seen the important role of these choices in someone’s overall health involvement. But today we will try to scratch the surface of its relation to sexual health.

Here’s a quick list of things anyone can do to improve their sexual health:

• Adjust your body fat percentage

  1. There is no doubt that the extra fat tissue in our body interferes with hundreds of different bodily functions. As it relates to this topic, fat tissue has a direct and indirect effect on our sex hormones such as estrogen levels and testosterone levels and their proper interaction. Fat tissue also contains a multitude of other factors तर but not limited to-the heart’s blood flow to the appropriate genital area, which can greatly affect a person’s sexual performance and health.
  2. Healthy body fat percentage should be less than 30% for women and less than 20% for men. (Please note that we are not talking about BMI.)



• Increase and maintain regular physical activity and exercise

  1. Aerobic and cardiovascular physical exercise allows for a sophisticated physical condition for improved blood circulation to all parts of the body, including the sexual organs of men and women with the smallest diameter blood vessels.
  2. Muscle Toning Exercise: Except for hundreds of improved physical conditions, an increase in the muscle-to-fat ratio increases testosterone production (a hormone that is extremely important in both male and female libido and sexual health and function).
  3. Regular physical activity also increases the number of neurotransmitters in our brain which are also a major factor in sexual health and desire.

• Treat and reduce any musculoskeletal pain and soreness

  1. Headaches, any muscle tension and stiffness, joint pain and discomfort of any part of the body from head to toe can be an underlying problem for the body. This “anger” or “pain process” conquers the body’s energy needed to prepare for the appropriate sexual desire or physical endurance associated with sexual activity.

• Avoid smoking or chewing tobacco / illegal drugs

  1. Any illicit drug or non-prescription drug is harmful to a person’s health and many different aspects and can detract from a person’s sexual health and sexual performance.
  2. Tobacco: Except for all the other aspects that include chronic heart disease and cancer. It is important to note that any time you smoke, all of your blood vessels go into a state of vasoconstriction. It reduces the transport of nutrients and hormones to the proper organs needed for sexual health and function.

• Limit your alcohol intake

  1. Although there are several medical journal articles that suggest improving the cardiovascular system by consuming three glasses of wine per week, it is extremely important to control and limit your alcohol intake so as not to exceed the recommendation. Increasing alcohol consumption significantly affects the overall functioning of the body, including sexual performance, function and health.



• Proper sleep hygiene

  1. 8-10 hours of sleep is a good time to allow the body to fully relax and reset itself for the next day’s overall activities. Anything more or less on a consistent basis can affect body function in many different ways, including overall sexual health and function.

• Appropriate and healthy diet

  1. Water intake – between 2 to 2.5 L per day is recommended
  2. Avoid sugar – it can “caramelize” your blood vessels and stick to your organs which can eventually be toxic to your body’s health and function.
  3. Don’t give away processed foods – bottom line: they’re not good! So, replace them with more fruits, vegetables and grains
  4. Limit your carbohydrate / fat and cholesterol intake

• Improve your mental health and boost your mood

  1. Reduce your stress level / increase your happy mood and self-confidence and self-esteem
  2. Reduce your stressful work hours and increase your “me-time” and engagement in your hobbies and special relaxation activities.

The above is a very short list of lifestyle choices and decisions that improve your overall health and disease and comorbidity prevention (most of which are silent until they are in their advanced stages). But it is also important to note that they can be limited and disrupted by any unknown underlying physical / hormonal insufficiency.

I will acknowledge that the above ideas can be propagated by any non-physician behavioral health professionals such as psychologists, behavioral therapists, life coaches, nutritionists / dietitians, personal trainers, and others. But despite the advice and help of all the experts, it is very important to know that the bottom line is to stay active and consistent with your behavior and lifestyle choices.

However, the above specialists, and most primary care physicians and most gynecologists or endocrine physicians have not been able to find out what to do with the appropriate bedside discussions about a person’s sexual health habits / problems / concerns or changes that many people are hesitant about. To discuss with your doctor.

Nevertheless, growing evidence shows that a more holistic and health-focused approach is important for a person’s sexuality. Health / function / performance. Hence, the importance of sexual health and medical practitioners. Such physicians are equipped with the appropriate hearing aids, appropriate laboratory tests, and knowledge of sexual health. Such specialized tests usually include your specified hormone levels, hormone by-products, vitamins, and other markers that can guide your sexual health practitioner to make an efficient plan to optimize your sexual health, sexual function, and sexual function. It happened in your extreme state. This is important not only for optimizing your medical, physical, and mental health, but also for the mental, physical, and medical health of your sexual partner, which in turn diminishes your family’s mental health and happiness.