HOW TO IMPROVE WOMEN’S SEXUAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS

While CBD has grown in hype and demand, there is insufficient evidence to prove that it can help women improve sexual health and wellness. However, women need to eat well, practice mindfulness, work on how they view themselves, exercise, and get enough sleep to boost their sex life.

While many women find intercourse painful and may not enjoy it, it is possible to boost your sexual hygiene and wellness through exercise, working on your mind to change how you view yourself, practicing mindfulness, eating well, and getting enough sleep. People look at CBD as the solution to many health challenges, but we don't have enough evidence to prove that it can help you manage sexual health as a woman. Find more about CBD, women's sexual health, and the natural alternatives to enjoying sex.

What Is CBD?

Before looking at the role of CBD in your sex life as a woman, you must know what CBD is. It is like the new product in town, and people cannot help talking about how it can help with this or that. What, though, is CBD? According to Mascal et al. (2019) and Kicman & Toczek (2020), CBD is a non-psychoactive chemical compound in cannabis plants, majorly hemp. There are many such compounds, including THC, that studies find psychoactive. However, CBD is psychoactive and does not make you high, so many are attracted to it. You can find CBD products in stores and online since the hype around CBD is more than widespread.

Can Women Use CBD to Improve Sexual Health and Wellness?

Studies like Watt & Karl (2017) find CBD therapeutic, and many people tap into CBD to benefit from this therapy. Does this mean that CBD can help you improve your sexual health and fitness as a woman? There are insufficient studies to prove this. However, research suggests that CBD can help with one or two things that improve women's sexual health and fitness. For instance, Hammell et al. (2016) noted that CBD can fight pain and inflammation, suggesting that it can help women manage inflammation, itching, and painful sex. Besides, Shannon et al. (2019) noted that CBD could help a person manage anxiety, yet it would normally lead to less sexual pleasure. Still, this is not enough to say that relying on CBD will make a woman miraculously boost her sex life. Thankfully, there are natural alternatives you can tap into to boost women's sexual life, as shown below, although some points may apply to both genders.

Schedule Time for Sex

While this may sound more like a cliché, it is one sure way to boost your sexual life and fitness as a woman. Schedule time for sex in the middle of your busy routine. If you plan other activities, why not do the same for sex? Many people do not enjoy sex because they have a busy schedule and little time for sexual pleasure. Start planning for sex in your busy schedule and see how drastically things can change.

Use Lubes

This sounds familiar, but you can try it if you have not done so in the past. People use lubricants to better their sexual life. There might be those safety concerns here and there about lubes doing this or that to a woman but choosing the right one helps you enjoy the experience. While many think that lubes are only for the moment, it is worth noting that there are more to them, hence why more and more people are using them today. Anecdotal evidence suggests that non-latex lubes are better, but research is ongoing to determine if this has anything to do with health.

Work on the Mind

One thing you can do as a woman to boost your sexual health and wellness is to work on the mind. It has been said time and again that 'it all starts in the mind,' and this is no exception when it comes to sex experiences women have. Do you find yourself thinking about how ugly you are? Do you view yourself as that one woman who is poor in bed? You must work on your mind to enjoy intercourse. According to del Mar Sánchez-Fuentes et al. (2014), having positive thoughts and views of one’s self helps a person know better how to enjoy sex.

Eat Well

Rating the right foods goes a long way to boost a woman’s sexual experience physically, emotionally, and mentally. For instance, Stojanovska et al. (2014) noted that maca can boost a person's sexual health, making the experience less painful. The study shows that maca reduces depression and keeps blood pressure in check, making the sexual experience more pleasurable. Other foods you may way want to eat to boost your sex life include ginkgo, apple, and fenugreek.

Exercise

Exercise has always been mentioned among the techniques you can try to manage stress and afford better relaxation. It is not overrated and has many far-reaching benefits. Did you know that exercises can help you relax better and manage stress, making it possible for you to enjoy sex? According to a Mayo Clinic report on stress and exercise, working out helps you keep in good shape, stay healthy, and push away stress. This way, you can enjoy your sexual experience. All you have to do is choose the workouts that you enjoy doing and ensure consistency.

Get Enough Sleep

The other thing that will help women enjoy better sexual life is to get enough sleep. Hirshkowitz et al. (2015) recommends that adults have 7- 9 hours of sleep. Good sleep quality helps a woman stay happy, energized, and less stressed up, ultimately improving her sex life. Meanwhile, not getting enough sleep leaves a person cranky, certainly affecting the sex experience negatively.

Try Mindful Training

Mindfulness has always been mentioned as one of the many stress management methods. Studies also suggest that training your brain to reason mindfully helps you enjoy intercourse, whether you are a man or woman. According to Brotto et al. (2014), mindful thinking helps a person relax and boost sexual health.

Conclusion

Since CBD promises to help with pain and inflammation, many consider it a solution to women's sexual health. Yet, there is insufficient scientific evidence to prove that CBD can work for women's sexual health. Thankfully, there are many natural alternatives to boost your sex life as a woman, most of whom are supported by studies. This article shares seven of them, including mindful training, scheduling for sex, using lubes, and working on the mind.

References

Brotto, L.A., Chivers, M.L., Millman, R.D. et al. Mindfulness-Based Sex Therapy Improves Genital-Subjective Arousal Concordance in Women With Sexual Desire/Arousal Difficulties. Arch Sex Behav 45, 1907–1921 (2016). x

del Mar Sánchez-Fuentes, M., Santos-Iglesias, P., & Sierra, J. C. (2014). A systematic review of sexual satisfaction. International journal of clinical and health psychology, 14(1), 67-75.

Elms, L., Shannon, S., Hughes, S., & Lewis, N. (2019). Cannabidiol in the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Case Series. Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.), 25(4), 392–397.

Hammell, D. C., Zhang, L. P., Ma, F., Abshire, S. M., McIlwrath, S. L., Stinchcomb, A. L., & Westlund, K. N. (2016). Transdermal cannabidiol reduces inflammation and pain-related behaviours in a rat model of arthritis. European journal of pain (London, England), 20(6), 936–948.

Hirshkowitz, M., Whiton, K., Albert, S. M., Alessi, C., Bruni, O., DonCarlos, L., ... & Ware, J. C. (2015). National Sleep Foundation’s updated sleep duration recommendations. Sleep health, 1(4), 233-243.

Kicman, A., & Toczek, M. (2020). The effects of cannabidiol, a non-intoxicating compound of cannabis, on the cardiovascular system in health and disease. International journal of molecular sciences, 21(18), 6740.

Mascal, M., Hafezi, N., Wang, D., Hu, Y., Serra, G., Dallas, M. L., & Spencer, J. P. (2019). Synthetic, non-intoxicating 8, 9-dihydrocannabidiol for the mitigation of seizures. Scientific reports, 9(1), 1-6.

Mayo Clinic. Healthy Lifestyle- Stress Management. Get Moving to Manage Stress. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/exercise-and-stress/art-20044469

Stojanovska, L., Law, C., Lai, B., Chung, T., Nelson, K., Day, S., Apostolopoulos, V., & Haines, C. (2015). Maca reduces blood pressure and depression, in a pilot study in postmenopausal women. Climacteric: the journal of the International Menopause Society, 18(1), 69–78.

Watt, G., & Karl, T. (2017). In vivo evidence for therapeutic properties of cannabidiol (CBD) for Alzheimer's disease. Frontiers in pharmacology, 8, 20.