When is the last time you got down and dirty? As it turns out, sexual healing applies to more than just the soul; while Marvin Gaye may not have had his vascular system in mind when he wrote that famous song, new research is giving us an inside look at how having an active sex life promotes a healthy heart.

From relieving stress to boosting natural immunity, sex is being discovered to be a wealth of healthy help, potentially relegating the orgasm to a only a mid-range spot on the list of reasons to indulge more often!

As if you needed another reason to pursue it, here are the goods on how having a full and healthy sexual appetite is good for your heart:

Sex Helps You Lose Weight

Research shows that even only very moderately vigorous sex will help you to burn at least 170 calories per hour, and that number only increases with the amount of physicality that goes into the act. Besides the direct effect seen in the lost calories, the variety associated with sexual positions is able to provide your muscles with unique tension, stretching and flexing areas of your body that are otherwise ignored, and serving as an all-around light workout.

The number of calories you’ll burn in any one session isn’t huge, of course, but that only means that you’ll need to have more sex, more vigorously, and for longer periods of time – not the worst prescription you could be given!

Sex Relieves Stress and Lowers Your Blood Pressure

One particularly pointed study done in Scotland followed the sexual habits of 22 men and 24 women on a quest to see how sexual acts affected stress and anxiety, and the high blood pressure that results from therm. All participants were asked to keep records of their sexual activity, after which researchers tested their response to high-stress situations, including public speaking, checking their blood pressure during and after each experience.

The study found that those who had intercourse more often had lower blood pressure, reflecting a lower stress level, than their counterparts, including those who participated in other sexual acts. Also, other studies have shown that sexual partners who cohabitate and have regular intercourse have lower diastolic blood pressure than those who don’t, making a very strong case for an increased sexual routine in the interest of long-term heart health!

If regular sex isn’t an option, you’ll be happy to hear that intimacy in general is proving to be able to help to lower blood pressure, with several studies showing that everything from hand-holding to simple hugging has a positive effect!

Sex Reduces Your Risk of a Heart Attack

Heart attacks are a major killer, especially when factors like obesity and high cholesterol are taken into account, and that makes the findings of one study that explored that killer’s link to sex all the more compelling.

The study, completed by a team of British researchers over a 20 year period, monitored the sexual activity of more than 1,000 men, with the results showing that those who indulged in regular intercourse with any partner were up to 45 percent less likely to have a heart attack than those who had sex less than once per month.

How the effect works exactly, and whether or not it also applies to women, is left up in the air, but the enormity of the results is sure to spur on additional research in the near future.

Other Sexy Bonuses

An act full of wonder, sex doesn’t stop at giving you a healthier heart; additional benefits include better immunity, improved self-confidence and outlook, improved relationships, and many others, making it something that you should indulge in as often as possible.

To end with another of Marvin Gaye’s famous song titles: let’s get it on.