Patty Brisben

Lose weight! Boost your sex life! Sounds like a good combination to me. Well, there’s scientific proof that traveling can do both!

According to psychologist Dr. Linda Papadopolous in an article for Travel and Leisure, there’s a reason that when you travel, you have a better bedroom experience. “Traveling can help reduce the levels of the stress hormone cortisol,” she said. “As stress and anxiety decrease, mood increases—bringing many, often unexpected, positive benefits in how we perceive ourselves, motivation and productivity, and our general outlook on life.”

And the weight loss? It can come from just breaking old routines. When you travel, you often walk more than you usually would, and you are more active than you might be at home. And catching a few rays can help you feel better about yourself as well, according to Dr. Papadopoulos. “Exposure to a healthy amount of sunshine is also believed to increase the brain’s release of the hormone serotonin which is associated with boosting mood and helping a person feel calm and focused.”

Overall it can make you healthier as well. A Maxim article says you can see definite health benefits. A study from the U.S. Travel Association found that people who travel at least once a year have a significantly lower risk of heart disease and premature death — some as much as 30 percent. The combination of increased physical activity and mental benefits of being on vacation means that you are one happy, healthy camper.

On top of that, the article says vacationing can help you sleep better. According to a study from the University of Colorado’s sleep Lap, something as simple as a weekend camping trip is enough to reset your circadian rhythm, and the insomniacs in the study were able to sleep more than 10 hours each night after the trip.

Oh, one more thing: In her book The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time, Arianna Huffington opines that sleeping more is a natural boost to your sex drive. (now you know why we LOVE to send our consultants on fabulous trips!!) So pack your bags and your negligee and go on the road to a better sex life!

Want to read more about boosting your sex life by boosting your frequent flyer miles? Check out the Travel and Leisure article here!

With dating apps everywhere, birth control readily available and social taboos about sex easing among most Americans, you would think, as one article states, “these should be boom times for sex.” Instead, some researchers say we are now in a sex recession.

In an article in The Atlantic by Kate Julian, researchers cite statistics that show the rates of teens and young adults having sex are dropping. From 1991 to 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior survey shows the percentage of high school students having sex dropped from 54 percent to 40 percent.

And young adults seem to be following the same pattern. Jean M. Twenge, a psychology professor at San Diego State University who has published research exploring how and why Americans’ sex lives may be ebbing, says young adults are on track to have fewer sex partners than the two preceding generations.  People now in their early 20s are two and a half times as likely to be abstinent as Gen Xers were at that age, she found; 15 percent report having had no sex since they reached adulthood.

So why is this? Anthropologist Helen Fisher points out that fewer people have been marrying for the last quarter century, and those who do marry have been marrying later. And one in three adults under age 35 live with their parents—not the greatest atmosphere for a love life.

Other reasons, researchers say, could be sleep deprivation, sleep quality (because we check our phones overnight) and, speaking of phones, the isolation over having conversations on the phone and not face to face.

Just like other recessions, though, Julian says this recession, too, shall pass. “A fulfilling sex life is not necessary for a good life, of course, but lots of research confirms that it contributes to one,” she says. “Having sex is associated not only with happiness, but with a slew of other health benefits. The relationship between sex and wellness, perhaps unsurprisingly, goes both ways: The better off you are, the better off your sex life is, and vice versa.”

At Pure Romance, we’re all about ending the sex recession! And if you’d like to read more about what the “sex recession” may mean, check out the article here!

What an incredible night we had at our 14^th annual gala for the Patty Brisben Foundation, “All That Glitters is Glam!” If you were there with us at the Greenacres Art Center, thank you for being part of a special evening to raise funds for the Foundation.

Because of you, and our wonderful sponsors, partners and donors, we are able to keep the conversation going on women’s sexual health and get it out in the open. As we continually say, women’s sexual health impacts every part of a woman’s life.

Despite this, most healthcare providers receive very little training when it comes to sexuality, and even less in the area of female sexual health. That’s where the Patty Brisben Foundation comes in, to get the conversation going in our country, and around the world. At a time when centers for women’s health care are closing, it’s more important than ever to provide sexual health services to women who need them.

While we’re still basking in the glow of our “glitter,” we have another sexual health conversation coming up next month. On Tuesday, November 12, we will have a panel discussion on Sexual Health and Trauma at 6 p.m. at Northern Kentucky University’s Student Union.

Our panel will feature esteemed local physicians and experts exploring the conversation on sexual health following trauma. This is a discussion for anyone and everyone going through, or supporting someone who has experienced trauma.

Registration is free, but we welcome you to RSVP by clicking HERE . Sign up soon, before we have to close registration. It’s a tough, but important conversation to have, and we hope you will join us. It’s because of your donations that we can continue to offer these free panel discussions.

Again, thanks for being part of our Gala to help continue the work of the Patty Brisben Foundation, and remember that #sexualhealthmatters!

You’ve met someone who has swept you off your feet, to whom you feel totally attracted and, yes, the sex is pretty good, too. But once the glow of infatuation fades, are you two made for the long haul? Does being sexually compatible mean, you can be compatible in your overall relationship?

Actually, it can, according to an article from Psychology Today. Kristen Mark, Ph.D. “Perceiving sexual compatibility with a partner has been shown to be related to sexual satisfaction,” she writes, “such that the more sexually compatible you are, the more sexually satisfied you are.

“And researchers have consistently found that sexual satisfaction is also significantly positively related to relationship satisfaction; when one increases (or decreases), the other tends to follow.”

So what does compatible mean? It could be as simple as preferences in the bedroom. “If one of you always wants sex with the lights on but one of you always wants sex with the lights off, it may impact your compatibility and perhaps also your satisfaction,” Dr. Mark writes.

But thinking that you’re compatible can be as much of an indicator as having the same sexual preferences. “Regardless of whether you like to engage in the same sexual behaviors as your partner, as long as you perceive that you are compatible, you’ll be sexually and relationally satisfied.”

How do you know that you’re sexually compatible? Dating coach Cora Boyd in EliteDaily.com gives us four signs that experts say show you’re compatible, including:

• Anticipating your partner’s needs, not just in the bedroom but in everyday life
• Receiving feedback constructively. “A defensive person who can’t receive feedback from you gracefully won’t be willing to go to the next level without making it about themselves,” said Boyd.

Communication is the key! Make sure you and your partner talk about your likes and dislikes to make your relationship more compatible in all phases of your lives!

Want to read more? Click here to check out the Psychology Today article.

And read more about how to tell if you’re compatible with your partner from EliteDaily.com here!

Fall may be the time for autumn colors of golden and brown leaves, but in October, we’ll turn pink as we celebrate National Breast Cancer Awareness Month—a great time for you to check on your own breast health with a mammogram, and to remind your friends and family to do the same.

We talk a lot about #sexualhealthmatters, and that includes sex after a mastectomy. In fact, webmd.com reports that in a study, more than two-thirds of surveyed breast cancer survivors reported that they were still having sexual function problems months after diagnosis.

“Sexual problems are among the most common and least talked about side effects of breast cancer treatment,” study co-author Susan R. Davis, MD, of Victoria, Australia’s Monash University Medical School tells WebMD.

The problems are often two-fold, according to gynecologist and breast cancer survivor Melanie Bone. Body image issues after breast surgery and vaginal dryness related to medications were among the most frequently mentioned complaints. A good lubricant from Pure Romance can help with the dryness. The body image part, researchers say, is more difficult.

“From the moment the surgeon takes a knife to your breast — unless you have superhuman self-esteem — there is an impact on sexuality,” Dr. Bone says. Even women who have breast-sparing surgery may no longer enjoy having their breasts touched during sex because it reminds them of their cancer and treatment.

But for those with supportive partners, the return of a satisfying sexual relationship is more likely, according to an article on aarp.org. According to the article, Researchers at UCLA, USC and Georgetown surveyed 863 breast cancer survivors two years after treatment. Compared with a control group of cancer-free women, the participants’ libido, erotic responsiveness, orgasms and sexual satisfaction were pretty much the same. In other words, breast cancer survivors recover not just physically but sexually within about two years

In another survey of 139 married breast-cancer survivors 20 months after diagnosis, UCLA researchers found that sexual activity and satisfaction hinge on a couple’s ability to support each other through the experience.

As we mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it’s a perfect time to make sure you and your friends have had that annual mammogram, and to support those who are undergoing treatment or are now survivors.