Stuffy nose? Have an orgasm!

Stuffy nose? You’ll probably go for spicy food, a steam bath or saline solution. But did you know there is a more enjoyable way to free up blocked sinuses? Believe it or not, an orgasm can help you breathe freely in no time. How? Read all about it here!

Autumn sniffles

The leaves are falling, and the noses are stuffy. An annoying condition and one that can keep you up all night long. However, it could be beneficial to go to bed early for once. Not to make up for lost sleep, but so you can work yourself up to an orgasm. because a climax like that can make your stuffy nose clear up so you can enjoy a good night’s rest. Of course, you could also ask your partner, as long as he or she isn’t taken aback by all the sniffling. Clearing up your sinuses with sex, who knew?!

Award-winning study

Well, apparently, E.N.T. specialist Olcay Cem Bulut, who published his ground-breaking study in the Ear, Nose & Throat Journal in January (and promptly won the Ig Nobel Prize for Medicine) knew. This alternative award was created for studies that might make you laugh at first, but then make you think. It was the first study that looked into the effects of sexual activity on nasal congestion and nasal breathing.

The researchers gathered eighteen straight couples with stuffed noses for the German research. None of the participants had dealt with nasal problems for a longer period of time, and the severity of the illness varied from person to person. Next, the participants were asked to measure their own airway resistance. On one day, they did this before and after their orgasm, and on the other day, they did it before and after using a nasal spray. They would test right after their orgasm or after using the nasal spray and would then repeat the test after thirty minutes, one hour and three hours.

The effects of both the orgasm and the nasal spray were excellent. Up to one hour after climax, the participants breathed through their noses just as well as when using a nasal spray. Unfortunately, the orgasm effect only lasted for one hour at most, after which their stuffy noses returned. The effects of the nasal spray, on the other hand, lasted longer.

Why does an orgasm help with a stuffy nose?

According to the German researchers, more research is required to find the correlation between orgasm and clearing stuffy noses. However, they did dare to make a careful guess as to why. The combination of sexual arousal, physical activity and the climax at the end could temporarily clear your respiratory passages.

But, they’re not the only doctors who’ve noticed this. For instance, Jordan Josephson, director of the New York Nasal and Sinus Center, mentions that increased adrenaline causes temporary relief of nasal passage issues after orgasm. The soft tissue of your nose contains a lot of blood vessels. These blood vessels work much the same as the tissue in your genitals: they can swell and shrink. Swollen tissue in your nose, like you have during a cold, blocks your nasal passages. That’s why your nose gets stuffed, and breathing is more difficult.

Wave of adrenaline

But, when you’re aroused, your adrenaline levels rise, and your blood vessels contract. Less blood flow in your nose means your respiratory passages have more room which makes breathing easier.

Your nervous system controls those adrenaline levels, says Michael Benninger, head of Cleveland’s Head and Neck Institute. Every person has two nervous systems: the sympathetic nervous system, which stimulates the bodily processes associated with physical activity; and the parasympathetic nervous system, which mainly concerns the routine maintenance of your organs. During foreplay and in the middle of lovemaking, it’s primarily your sympathetic nervous system that’s at work, which in turn releases tons of adrenaline, causing your blood vessels to contract and your sinuses to open up.

When you orgasm, you receive a wave of adrenaline, and you’re able to breathe freely through your nose for a while. Unfortunately, this doesn’t last very long. After you orgasm, your parasympathetic nervous system takes over. Your body relaxes, your adrenaline decreases again, and the positive effects it had on your respiratory passages slowly fades away. The nasal relief lasts for, at most, one hour. After which, your stuffy nose returns, sometimes even worse because you can get a runny nose after an orgasm.

Tip! Want to make love to combat your stuffy nose? Then make sure you’re not laying on your back in the missionary position. Being on top works best because gravity can help you along this way.

Orgasm as a future medicine?

The research faced some limitations, according to researchers. For instance, the study was conducted with just 36 participants, and the data collection after orgasm was not one hundred percent reliable. But the scientists are hopeful for the future. If subsequent studies support the results found in the present research, orgasms could one day be ‘prescribed’ as a treatment for headaches that stem from issues caused by the respiratory system.

However, sex as a permanent solution for a stuffy nose? That won’t be the case. But it’s still a fun, healthy addition to the more common remedies such as saline solutions and nasal sprays with oxymetazoline. The nasal spray with oxymetazoline might work wonders, but they also have one major downside. You’ll end up dependent on it: the moment you stop using it, your stuffy nose returns twice as bad. You wouldn’t be the first person to become addicted to nasal spray.

Maybe it’s better to give a side-effect-free treatment under the sheets a try? It couldn’t hurt!