The exact number of times you should be having sex each week to keep your brain healthy

MANY of us won’t need any added encouragement to get it on with a partner.

But a new study has found having regular sex can do more than keep you satisfied – it’s good for your brain, too.

Sex relieves stress and releases the pleasure hormone, dopamine, scientists saAlamy

Researchers from Hope College in the US tested the cognitive abilities, which included memory and attention skills, of 1,683 people 62 and older for five years.

They found those aged 75 to 90 who had sex at least once a week for five years scored higher on brain tests at the end of the experiment than those who never got it on.

This could be because sex is a physical activity which can reduce the risk of cognitive decline, including dementia, the researchers suggested.

“This may be especially true at older-old ages as physical inactivity increases with age and older-old adults have high rates of sedentary behaviour,” they wrote in their research paper.

“Thus, any circulatory benefits from having sex may be important at very old age.”

The study, published in the Journal of Sex Research found for slightly younger adults, aged 62 to 74, it was all about the quality of the sex rather than how often they did it.

Those who described their sex life as “very pleasurable and satisfying” had better cognitive health scores than those who didn’t enjoy their bedroom romps very much.

The scientists said this may be attributable to the stress-relieving benefits of good sex, as well as the release of the pleasure hormone, dopamine.

They wrote: “Stress prevents the new formation of neurons [neurogenesis] in the hippocampus, an area of the brain associated with memory.

“Older adults who enjoy satisfying sexual activities may experience decreased stress that may in turn protect neurogenesis.”

The researchers, added: “Sexual satisfaction is associated with orgasm, and an orgasm releases a rush of dopamine.

“Thus, people with more sexually satisfying relationships may experience higher levels of dopamine, which has been linked to improved memory in older adults.”