The exact number of times you should have sex a week to beat silent killer revealed

MANY of us certainly won’t need the added incentive to get it on with a partner. But one relationship expert has said having sex three times a week can do wonders with busting stress. Stress is has been dubbed a ‘silent killer’ for a reason – while it affects everyone differently, studies have shown that it can result in a stroke or heart attack in severe cases.

Often if we’re anxious and overwhelmed and our brain just won’t stop whirring, a romp between the sheets is the last thing we want to do. But counsellor Tracey Sainsbury said that people should be having far more sex, instead of turning it down because they feel stressed.

Dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin are often called ‘happy hormones’, but they’ll also keep you more robust and resilient against stress, according to Mrs Sainsbury. “You can stimulate all of them with sex, and people should just make it part of their routine,” she told the Mail. Naked skin-to-skin contact with your partner can also get these hormones going.

“Quite honestly, it doesn’t have to be beautiful, romantic lovemaking,” Mrs Sainsbury continued. “It can be a quickie downstairs on the sofa or in the kitchen. It doesn’t have to be in bed at night.” She also suggested a quick lunchtime bout if both you and your partner are working from home.

It’s not just hormones that can be helpful – rediscovering a more playful and fun side of yourself can also bring down your stress levels. Speaking at the Fertility Show at London’s Olympia, the expert said that couples struggling to conceive a baby – who make up around one in seven couples – ironically start having less sex.

Feelings of pressure to perform or failure can combine to dampen feelings of passion, she said. But it is important to make sex part of a weekly routine, Mrs Sainsbury said, rather than only having sex during the narrow window of ovulation.

“We may think we don’t have enough time when we are stressed or trying to conceive, but sex is very important indeed.” Experts have previously touted intimacy as a way to improve heart health, fight infections, beat a blocked nose and even fight the onset of menopause.