If you’re female, is sex healthy?

Libido and arousal

Libido is the desire for sex, but arousal is harder to define.^[1] It can, however, be assessed both subjectively (through self-reports) and objectively (through changes in body heat, breathing rate, and genital sensitivity),^[2] and we know some of its chemistry.

Neurotransmitters and hormones mediate arousal.^[3] Like male arousal, female arousal is mediated by hypothalamic dopamine^[3] and androgens^[4][5] — a case study has noted a lack of libido in a woman deficient in dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a potent androgen derived from testosterone.^[6] Estrogens, on the other hand, are not highly related to the neurology of sex, but rather to the regulation of female sexual anatomy.^[7][8][9]

Externally, arousal appears influenced by the scent of the desired gender: smelling androgens stimulates heterosexual females, whereas smelling estrogens stimulates homosexual females and heterosexual males.^[10][11] In the latter, smelling estrogens even increases testosterone.^[12] The study of human pheromones, however, is still in its infancy.

One of the main research techniques to induce sexual arousal — the showing of pictures and videos of sexual activities the subjects report enjoying — seems to be more effective in males than in females.^[13][14][15] Nevertheless, females do get sexually aroused by erotic videos, though not by sexual documentaries.^[16]

Sex and orgasm

A wide range of psychological and physiological health factors benefit from penile-vaginal intercourse,^[17] which has been associated with greater satisfaction with regard to sex, partnership, mental health, and life in general.^[18] Other sexual activities don’t seem to provide the same benefits, and masturbation and anal intercourse might even be detrimental to health.^[17][19]

Orgasm can be defined as a peak of euphoria usually followed by a feeling of contentment.^[20] Whereas libido is most affected by androgens and the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine (aka noradrenaline),^[21] orgasm appears most affected by another neurotransmitter: serotonin.^[22] Various brain regions are important for female arousal and orgasm.^[2] 

At the moment, no supplement has a large body of evidence for the enhancement of female orgasm; all we have are promising routes that await more research.^[23] Most studies to date have aimed to prevent the decrease in libido caused by antidepressants; the results of such studies may not apply to healthy women.^[24][25]

Finally, let’s note that there are differences between primate and nonprimate sexual control, so studies in rodents may have little bearing on humans.^[2][26]