Doctor reveals alarming impact not having sex for months could have on your body

A doctor has shared what happens to your mind and body if you go months without sex.

There's a multitude of reasons why one might stop having sex, whether it's due to being celibate or just simply being unlucky in love.

While getting no action can happen to anyone regardless of age, a 2021 California University study discovered that Generation Z - born between 1997 and 2012 - hadn't had any sexual partners in the previous year, and were less sexually active than other groups at that age.

A doctor shares what happens when you go months without sex. Credit: Jamie Grill / Getty

One expert, named Dr Tara Suwinyattichaiporn, spoke to the Daily Mail about the harmful effects this can have on the human body - for both men and women.

So, what kind of impact can no action have on a person?

Sex releases a hormone called oxytocin - also dubbed the "love hormone" - which boosts your mood and increases when you’re experiencing an orgasm or embracing someone.

So without this dopamine, you can undergo a variety of problems that are detrimental to your mental health such as anxiety, depression, and increased levels of stress, Suwinyattichaiporn revealed.

A 2021 study in the Science Direct journal found that people with unmet sexual needs can develop anger that may lead to an increase in aggressive behavior.

Sexual frustration may result in "the risks of aggression, violence, and crime associated with relief-seeking, power-seeking, revenge-seeking, and displaced frustration," the study explained.

Sari Cooper, a sex therapist, told the publication that couples experiencing a problem with intimacy don't approach each other "with softness, vulnerability, and requests for compromise," and instead "blame one another, pursue the other with continuous criticism, or elicit a guilty response in order to get their needs met".

"Sometimes one partner may ask to open up the relationship so they can get their needs met in an ethical manner, and other partners may just have an outside sexual infidelity to meet the needs," Cooper added. 

People with unmet sexual needs can develop anger that may lead to an increase in aggressive behavior. Credit: Bymuratdeniz / Getty

Thankfully, the physical effects on your body from not having sex aren't exactly as alarming but there are still some concerns.

Suwinyattichaiporn revealed that men are at risk of developing medical problems such as penile atrophy and prostate cancer if they abstain for many years.

Likewise, when a woman goes without sex for months, it can cause vaginal atrophy, which is when the tissues become thin and dry and, in some cases, shortens the vaginal canal - this makes intercourse uncomfortable and sometimes painful.

Credit: Delmaine Donson / Getty

Cooper advised those going through a sexual hiatus to address their stress levels because it impacts your ability to notice if "someone piques our neurotic nerve endings".

Suwinyattichaiporn added that "stressed-out people don’t have the capacity to enjoy sex," per the outlet.

You can fix this by practicing exercises like yoga, meditation, and tai-chi. Cooper also recommended nonphysical methods such as finding out what triggered your "erotic desires" in the past.

"For example, someone may be very sound-oriented and if in a relaxed state can get really turned on when listening to or dancing to a type of music," he said.

Featured image credit: Salez / Getty