Surprising Health Benefits of Sex

When you're in the mood, it's a sure bet that the last thing on your mind is boosting your immune system or maintaining a healthy weight. Yet good sex offers those health benefits and more. That's a surprise to many people, says Joy Davidson, PhD, a New York psychologist and sex therapist. 'Of course, sex is everywhere in the media,' she says. 'But the idea that we are vital, sexual creatures is still looked at in some cases with disgust or in other cases a bit of embarrassment.

So to really take a look at how our sexuality adds to our life and enhances our life and our health, both physical and psychological, is eye-opening for many people.'

18 Secrets, Women Wish You Knew

1. A Caring Guy Is a Hot Guy

What do women want? For those who’ve ever pondered this question, here are 19 relationship secrets. They’re based on the study of healthy, happy couples and our changing gender roles. Secret No. 1: Women appreciate a guy with a sensitive side, especially when they’re upset. Put your arm around her and hand her a tissue. Nurturing is a powerful way to connect.

8 Romantic Ways to Spend Valentine’s Day - Special Day

I’ve never been one to care for Valentine’s Day. It’s supposedly the most romantic day of the year, but to me it just seems so “in your face” and cheesy. I know it’s a designated day to show love for the person in your life who is good at taking your breath away, but what if you don’t have that person in your life yet? Being single on Valentine’s Day, especially if you’re wishing you were in a relationship or just recently broke up with someone, can leave a little sting. Even if you’re single by choice, you get that “poor you” look from other people when they ask who you’re spending the holiday with.

Should you have Sex on your Wedding Night?

If you don’t sleep together on your wedding night, are you screwed? (And yes, sleep means sex). It used to be that consummation was a major aspect of the marriage act. Scholarship on medieval marriage – when bonds were forged for dynastic reasons not romantic ideals – reveals the functional significance of sex in matrimony. Maidenheads had to be claimed to properly seal the deal and demarcate the wife as a taken women not a virginal girl. Masculinity and virility needed to be proven and illustrated in blood on sheets for the sake of honor and husband title-holding.

6 Marriage Myths - Scheduling

The world is full of advice for married couples, newlyweds or not  -- some of it commonsensical, most of it well-intentioned, and much of it wrong. In the 14 years we've been married, my husband and I have broken all the rules at least once  -- and when I copped to friends, most of them gleefully admitted they'd done the same. So I asked them to go on the record as we figured out the biggest myths about marriage. With the help of a few experts (themselves veterans of long, kid-filled relationships), we've decoded what bits of conventional wisdom are worth tossing  --