Patty Brisben

Let’s face it, sex makes you feel better, both about yourself and about your partner. But it can actually improve your health—especially if you have sex on a regular basis!

In a recent article from Women’s Health, Columbia University professor Dr. Hilda Hutcherson says, “having sex regularly can do more than make you feel closer to your partner—it can actually make you physically healthier.” How can that happen? Well, in several ways, including reducing stress.

Endorphins and oxytocin are released during sex, and these feel-good hormones activate pleasure centers in the brain that create feelings of intimacy and relaxation and help stave off anxiety and depression, says Laura Berman, Ph.D., an assistant clinical professor of ob-gyn and psychiatry at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.

How else? Having sex can help you get to sleep. That’s because, the article says, the same endorphins that help you de-stress can also relax your mind and body, according to Cindy M. Meston, Ph.D., director of the Sexual Psychophysiology Laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin. Plus, during orgasm, the hormone prolactin is released. “Prolactin levels are naturally higher when we sleep, which suggests a strong relationship between the two,” she says.

And sex is a workout as well, as cardiologists consider sexual activity comparable to a modest workout on a treadmill, according to a study published in The American Journal of Cardiology. So don’t feel bad if you skip the workout one morning and have sex instead

There are other ways that having sex can improve your health. Read about more about it here! 

Remember the advertising tag line, “You’re not getting older, you’re getting better”? I certainly believe that, and you should, too! After a few years of experience under our belts, we understand what, and who, are important in our lives, and we get a better sense of what we want to do. That’s why so many women, after spending time in a job that perhaps is not as fulfilling as they’d like, are switching careers later in life.

A recent article in Forbes suggests that women over 50 hoping to launch a business have advantages that perhaps a younger female entrepreneur might not. “Generally, this is a time in their life when their responsibilities as a mother are substantially less and more easily managed in comparison to those women who are in the child-bearing and early child-rearing stages,” according to Kimberly A. Eddleston, professor at Northeastern University.

She also says having worked earlier in your life can prepare you for owning your own business later in life. “The added work experience and the associated boost to their self-confidence significantly assists in the development of their businesses,” said Eddleston.

Women are increasingly taking control of their own careers. In fact, women now make up 40% of new entrepreneurs in the United States — the highest percentage since 1996, according to the Kauffman Index of Startup Activity. What’s the attraction? In a recent survey, Paychex asked 1,000 aspiring business owners how they feel, and what they fear, about the prospect of working for themselves. Women were more likely than men to say they were eager to start businesses because they wanted to work for themselves.

So many of our Consultants have taken charge of their lives, and their finances, by becoming small business owners through Pure Romance. And as the Forbes article shows, it’s never too late to be your own boss! Read more from the article here!

Vibrators have evolved from basic to high tech, from back rooms to your favorite Pure Romance Consultant. Gone (thankfully) are the days when women had to sneak into sometimes-sketchy shops to purchase vibrators to enhance their relationships.

But is there such a thing as too much of a good thing? Jada Pinkett Smith famously said last year that, when she was giving herself five orgasms a day, that she was “kind of addicted” to her vibrator.

Can that really happen? A recent article in Cosmopolitan talks about prolonged use of a vibrator and what effect it might have on your sex life. Sex Therapist Vanessa Marin says, “Here’s the bottom line. You’re not going to get addicted to or dependent on your vibrator.” She goes on to say that there may be times you want to keep it in the dresser drawer, especially if you are heading into a new relationship.

“If you’re down with having your partner use a vibrator on you, or using a vibrator with your partner, by all means, buzz away!” she says, but cautions that using the vibrator might keep you from discussing with each other what else you might like. “It’s hard to give a partner feedback if all you know how to do is hit the power button,” she says.

At Pure Romance, we offer all styles and shapes of vibrators and other relationship enhancements for you and your partner, but nothing beats basic communication of what you both want. If it includes a Pure Romance toy, all the better! But it’s all part of a healthy discussion about sex that we all should be having. This is just one way to get the conversation going!

Want to read more from the Cosmo article? Check it out here!

We talk a lot about how proud we our of our Consultants who are taking charge of their lives and their families’ schedules and becoming their own small business owners. They are amazing women, but on top of that, they also are doing wonders for their own health and well-being!

A recent article in Forbes confirms what a lot of us have found out in owning our own business—it makes us feel good, and that in turn makes us better equipped to help the ones we love. In the article, economist Milena Nikolova says those who make the move voluntarily, from regular jobs to self-employment, enjoy improvements in both physical and mental health.

“The findings highlight an additional non-monetary benefit of self-employment,” she writes, “and have implications for entrepreneurship theory and practice, current and would-be entrepreneurs, as well as policy-makers.”

Self-employed people with and without employees saw health benefits, according to Nikolova, who noted that numerous other studies show the self-employed enjoy enhanced job satisfaction related to having control over their jobs.

We love the idea that Consultants are their own bosses, set their own flexible schedules and are helping their families through their Pure Romance businesses. And now we have proof that it’s good for you!

If you’ve ever thought about being a Pure Romance Consultant, now’s the time to consider it, and if you’re already a Consultant, make sure you join us for National Training in Cincinnati next month—register now before it’s too late here!

If you want to read more on the subject, check out the Forbes article!

There are as many stories about menopause as there are women who have gone through it. Some are lucky enough to sail through “the change,” while some have symptoms ranging from the occasional hot flash to full blown mood swings.

Menopause can mean a lot to women, but one thing it doesn’t have to mean—it doesn’t have to mean the end of your sex life. It’s true that after menopause the loss of estrogen and testosterone can lead to changes in a woman’s sexual drive and changes in her body, but there is help that can bring the spark back to your sex life.

That’s why I am excited about our next #SexualHealthMatters conversation, coming up Tuesday, July 9^th at the Metropolitan Club in Covington, Kentucky, where we’ll talk about sex and menopause. We have a great panel of experts and physicians that will answer YOUR questions about hot flashes, vaginal dryness, pain, early menopause and much more.

If you’re in the Cincinnati area, we’d love to see you at our conversation. Tickets are free, and you can register here! Whether you have gone through “the change” or are near that time, you’ll find this conversation educational and informative. Join us on July 9^th!