London - It gives a whole new meaning to the term “brain teaser”.
Apparently orgasms give our brains a better workout than doing a crossword puzzle or Sudoku.
The sensation increases brain activity across the whole organ, whereas a puzzle activates only relatively localised regions, claims neuroscientist Professor Barry Komisaruk.
The academic, who published the first evidence of brain regions involved in orgasm in women almost a decade ago, also said the sensation could block out pain.
“At orgasm we see a tremendous increase in the blood flow. So my belief is it can’t be bad. It brings all the nutrients and oxygenation to the brain,” he said.
“Mental exercises increase brain activity but only in relatively localised regions. Orgasm activates the whole.”
The professor, who works at Rutgers University in New Jersey, studied women in his laboratory at the university’s department of psychology. He measured the blood flow to their brains as they reached orgasm.
The 72-year-old researcher has been studying female arousal since the 1960s. He started his experiments on rats and moved on to women in the 1980s. But he still believes there is much to learn.
“We know virtually nothing about pleasure,” he said. “It’s important to understand how the brain produces it.
“What parts of the brain produce such intense pleasure, and can we use that in some way?
“What would that do to depression, anxiety, addiction or pain?” – Daily Mail