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Do opposites attract? The kind of people who have more sex. Why men shouldn’t try to sound sexy, and more…
When people are single they are more attracted to faces that are dissimilar to their own, new research finds.
But, when people are already in a relationship, they are more attracted to faces that look similar to their own.
In other words: opposites attract for single people, but not for those in a relationship.
The reason that dissimilar faces attract could be down to avoiding incest or other people with similar genes.
People who help others out have more sex, new research concludes.
The more altruistic people are, the more sexual partners they have and the more frequently they have sex.
Could it be, then, that being nice to other people is the ultimate aphrodisiac?
Who would have thought it?
The face can reveal whether our weight has changed, but how much is required for others to see it?
Dr Nicholas Rule, co-author of a new study on the subject, explains:
“Women and men of average height need to gain or lose about three and a half and four kilograms, or about eight and nine pounds, respectively, for anyone to see it in their face, but they need to lose about twice as much for anyone to find them more attractive.”
Women have no trouble changing their voice to make it sound more sexy, but men have no clue.
Women lower the pitch of their voice and make it sound more breathy — which men find more attractive.
Dr Hughes said men found it difficult to sound sexy:
“In fact, although not significantly, it got a bit worse when men tried to sound sexy.”
The reason for the differences could be down to practice, the researchers think.
Men do not really focus on making their voice sound sexier, but women do.
Women are more attracted to men when they are uncertain of his feelings.
So the old dating advice about ‘playing hard-to-get’ may have some scientific basis.
It all comes down to how much we are thinking about the other person.
The study’s authors write:
“When people first meet, it may be that popular dating advice is correct: Keeping people in the dark about how much we like them will increase how much they think about us and will pique their interest.”
Women judge fully bearded men to be a better bet for long-term relationships.
This might be because it makes men look more ‘formidable’.
Certainly, beards make men look older and more aggressive.
Beards are also often judged to make men look like they have higher social status.
However, for short-term relationships, women judge stubble to be most attractive, the new research found.
Believe it or not, our cheeks were not created equal in attractiveness or emotional expression.
People’s left cheeks are generally seen as more attractive than their right, a psychology study has found.
It may be because people tend to show more emotion with their left cheek than their right.
The reason could be down to how emotions are processed in the brain.
Mixed-race faces are consistently seen as the most attractive when compared with black and white faces.
The finding is dramatic among the most attractive people, writes Dr Michael Lewis, the study’s author:
“…40% of the faces in the experiment were mixed race but among the top 10% most attractive faces this proportion increased to 65%.
Of the top 5% most attractive faces, 74% were mixed race…
…people whose genetic backgrounds are more diverse are, on average, perceived as more attractive than those whose backgrounds are less diverse.”
How attractive you look depends on the attractiveness of the people around you, new research finds.
An average-looking person is rated as more attractive when surrounded by unappealing faces.
Dr Nicholas Furl, the study’s author, said:
“Last year’s film The Duff, – an acronym for the rather unfortunate and unfair term ‘Designated Ugly Fat Friend’ explored how the main character felt being physically compared to her friendship group.
As in life, this film showed that how we perceive beauty and attractiveness isn’t fixed.”
Testosterone is a hormone that is secreted in both men and women. It is responsible for sex drive, as well as protein processing for muscle mass development and strength. Testosterone declines with age, illness and poor nutrition in both genders, though this change may be more marked in men. Synthetic hormone replacement therapy can cause adverse side effects. A natural way to raise the body’s testosterone levels safely include supplementing the diet with specific nutrients and physical exercise.
Step 1
Take a B-complex vitamin supplement that includes folic acid, vitamin B5, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 to increase testosterone production. These nutrients are important in protein and fat metabolism for the manufacture of this hormone. Eat foods that contain these vitamins, including avocados, eggs, fish and wheat germ.
Step 2
Increase the mineral zinc in your diet to raise testosterone levels and sperm production in the body. Take a daily zinc supplement according to the dosage on the label. Eat foods like shellfish, prawns and oysters that are high in this mineral.
Step 3
Take a 500 mg of fish oil once or twice every day, as recommended by your doctor. Fish oil contains omega 3 fatty acids and other nutrients which help to decrease sex hormone binding globulin, or SHBG. SHBG is a protein that captures or binds to testosterone in the blood, lowering availability of the hormone.
Step 4
Get regular strenuous exercise, such as resistance training, weight lifting and endurance running to increase testosterone levels. Decreasing excess body fat helps to decrease estrogen and raise testosterone production in men. As little as 20 minutes of physical activity, four times a week can improve hormone production.
Step 5
Eat foods that increase testosterone production. These include eggs, tomatoes, red peppers, cruciferous vegetables, alfalfa sprouts, apples and pineapples.
Step 6
Reduce saturated fat, sugary and processed foods from your diet. These foods reduce testosterone levels in the body, leading to low libido, loss of muscle mass and other effects.
Warnings
Lower than normal levels of testosterone production may be an indication of a disorder. If levels of this male hormone do not improve with natural methods, a blood test by your doctor can help determine whether there is an underlying cause.
Additionally, fish oil and other supplements may not be beneficial in all cases.
Tips
Ensure that you get adequate restful sleep each night. Sleeping less than the recommended 6 to 8 hours per night increases stress hormones, which lowers testosterone production. Additionally, learn to manage stress levels in healthy ways to naturally increase testosterone. Hormone replacement therapy may be required for some men with low testosterone levels. Consult your physician about treatment options.
Men and women are different. There are some good biological reasons for that. Studies of brain scans of men and women show that women tend to use both sides of their brain because they have a larger corpus callosum. This is the bridge between the two hemispheres of the brain and allows women to share information between those two halves of the brain faster than men. Men tend to use the left side of the brain which is the more logical and rational side of the brain. Scans also reveal other interesting ways in which men and women do things differently or process information differently from each other.
HERE ARE 11 WAYS MEN AND WOMEN THINK DIFFERENTLY:
1. PERCEPTION
Women have smaller brains that are more tightly packed with connections. This allows them to perform better at tasks involving the bigger picture and situational thinking. A man’s brain tends to perform better at spatial thinking involving recognizing patterns and problem solving with objects in a spatial environment.
2. ONE TRACK MIND
Men tend to excel better at singular tasks while women are better at juggling a number of tasks at once. This may stem from the primordial male role of the hunter who is fixated on a singular objective while the traditional female role of manager of the home forced her to juggle many tasks simultaneously.
3. SOCIAL INTERACTIONS
Women tend to perform better in social situations than men do. Men tend to excel at more abstract thinking and task-oriented jobs. Again, this may stem from the traditional gender roles whereby women had to work together to accomplish more complex tasks while men spent more time alone stalking prey.
4. DEALING WITH EMOTIONS
Women have a larger limbic system in their brains which allows them to be more in touch and expressive about their emotions. Men tend to be a little oblivious with emotions that are not explicitly verbalized. Men tend to be more logical in their thinking and dismiss information that is not directly involved with the issue they are tackling. Women tend to be much more empathetic and susceptible to emotions influencing their thinking.
5. DO THE MATH
Men tend to have larger inferior parietal lobules than women. This area of the brain is thought to control mathematical ability and processes. Men tend to do better with math because of this. This isn’t to say that there are not women who are great at math, but that men have a small biological advantage when it comes to math and logic based skills.
6. DEALING WITH PAIN
The amygdala is the area of the brain responsible for pain. Pain is activated in either the right (men) or left (women) hemispheres. The right side is more connected with external stimuli, while the left is more connected to internal stimuli. Women tend to feel pain more intensely than men do because of this.
7. LEARN LANGUAGES
Women tend to be better at learning languages and are more attuned to words and sounds. This may be why men tend to find it harder to express themselves verbally. It may stem from the increased demand on women over millions of years to cooperate and organize in order to manage large complex tasks.
8. WOMEN REMEMBER BETTER
Women have tend to have higher activity in their hippocampus, the region responsible for forming and storing memories, than men do. Studies have shown that women tend to remember faces, names, objects and events better than men.
9. ASK FOR DIRECTIONS
Men tend to have better spatial-reasoning skills and are better at remembering geographic details. They tend to have a better innate sense of direction and remember where areas and locations are. This ability most likely stems from their days as hunters when men had to navigate long distances without the aid of a map and compass.
10. RISK TAKING
Men tend to be more likely to take risks. Women tend to be more risk averse. Men get a bigger dose of endorphins when they take risks. The bigger the risk, the larger the pleasure derived from the risky behavior. Men may be specialized to take more risks because of early human’s need to hunt down food which may be larger, stronger and more dangerous than a single man. Hunting is also inherently dangerous as some predator may be stalking you while you are stalking another prey animal.
11. SEX
Men tend to be more visual in what arouses them, while women tend to be turned on by a combination of things like ambiance, emotions, scents as well as visual perceptions.
While equal, men and women have different biological strengths and weaknesses. These differences may stem from a very long period of specialization between genders. Humans have been hunter/gatherers much longer than we have been civilized farmers and tradesmen. This long period of adaptation to changing environments may be responsible in some small part for traditional gender roles based on biology and physical specialization. Men and women, while different, are complementary like a knife and a fork.
The Huffington Post By Taryn Hillin 07/08/2014
It’s been said that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but new research suggests it can do a lot more than that.
A new study published in Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics suggests that eating more apples leads to better sex for women.
Researchers analyzed 731 sexually active Italian women aged 18 to 43 with no history or complaint of sexual disorder. Women taking prescription drugs or suffering from depression were excluded from the study as well.
Participants were separated into two groups: regular apple consumption (one to two apples a day) and no apple consumption (0 to 0.5 apples per day). The women then filled out the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), which is comprised of 19 questions about sexual function, sexual frequency, orgasm, lubrication and overall sexual satisfaction.
Researchers found that “daily apple use is associated with higher FSFI scores in sexually active female patients, thus increasing their lubrication and overall sexual function.”
So why apples?
The researchers hypothesize that apples may improve sexual function because, like red wine and chocolate, they contain polyphenols and antioxidants that can stimulate blood flow to the genitalia and vagina, thus helping with arousal.
Not only that, researchers says apples contain phloridzin, a common phytoestrogen that is structurally similar to estradiol – a female sex hormone – and plays a huge role in vaginal lubrication and female sexuality.
Of course, the study has its limitations. It’s a relatively small sample size and it’s difficult to separate correlation from causation. However, the researchers note the results are “intriguing,” to say the least.
Now excuse us while we go eat some apples.
There are many reasons I love being off the market, but I’m especially relieved to be away from the rabbit hole of dating apps like Tinder, as it might be contributing to the rise of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in certain places.
According to a recent examination and news release, Rhode Island’s Department of Health found significant STD increases from 2013 to 2014, with syphilis cases growing by nearly 80 percent, gonorrhea infections spiking 30 percent, and HIV diagnoses jumping nearly 33 percent.
What’s likely to blame for some of these scary high numbers? Dating apps, according to the release.
“High-risk behaviors include using social media to arrange casual and often anonymous sexual encounters, having sex without a condom, having multiple sex partners, and having sex while under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” the release reads.
Tinder, which exploded in popularity in 2013 and 2014, could be one of the platforms responsible for this uptick in STDs, as users are known for turning to the app for random hook-ups. Grindr, which launched prior to Tinder and enables gay men to have casual sexual encounters as well, may also be at fault.
Courtney McMorrow, a Salve Regina University junior, told USA Today College that the apps’ STD increases make sense given the fact that users aren’t well-acquainted with each other when they first meet.
“People don’t know what they’re getting into and just kind of go for it,” McMorrow said. “So that could really lead to more of a prevalence.”
University of Rhode Island junior Erin O’Brien pointed out that she’s not sure how many students outright question their sexual partner about their history prior to engaging in sexual activity, and that could be part of the issue at hand.
“I don’t know how many people [get tested] or even ask someone about their history before they hookup,” O’Brien said. “I only know of one girl who actually asks before she does and that’s because she’s part of one of the organizations pushing for students to get tested.”
Though USA Today surveyed 200 students and found many of them use dating apps as a joke, almost 70 percent of participants said they believed hookup apps could spark a rise in STD rates.
Dr. Rosemary Reilly-Chammat, an HIV/AIDS sexuality specialist, said in the Rhode Island release that the STD increase highlights the value of informing young people to take precautions before having sex.
“These new data underscore the importance of encouraging young people to begin talking to a doctor, nurse, or health educator about sexual health before becoming sexually active and especially after becoming sexually active,” Reilly-Chammat said. “It’s never too early to learn about making HIV and STD testing part of routine healthcare. Doctors and nurses are trained to discuss sensitive topics like sex, and conversations with them are confidential. Health educators at schools or community health centers are great resources too.”
In 2013, a New York University study found that Craigslist prompted a 16 percent hike in HIV cases across more than 30 states from 1999 to 2008. The problem is apparently not unique to the United States either; according to Christchurch Sexual Health Clinic, Grindr was connected to more than half of New Zealand’s syphilis cases in 2012. Dr Rosemary Gillespie, chief executive at the UK-based Terrence Higgins Trust, told MailOnline that hookups give people more opportunities than ever before to snag sexual partners. That, of course, comes with immense risk.
“Dating apps have given people more opportunities to meet potential partners than ever before, and we are currently looking at their impact on gay men’s sexual health,” Dr. Gillespie said. “In the meantime, it is really important that the safer sex message stays strong, and that people know how to protect themselves and their partners.”
May 6 was Sigmund Freud’s birthday (born in 1856). It has been more or less 100 years since Freud wrote many of his groundbreaking books and papers on the human mind – exploring and theorizing about dreams, culture, childhood development, sexuality and mental health. And while some of his theories have been discredited, many major ideas have been borne out and are still relevant today, according to Discover Magazine. They are a roadmap to our minds and are still useful and accepted – in one way or another – by all educated people, who grapple with the issues of self-knowledge and human motives.
Freud tells a story that few of us want to hear: We do not know ourselves. We do not really know what motivates us or why we do what we do.
Our conscious thoughts are just the tip of our mental iceberg.
In commemoration of Mental Health Awareness month this May, the following list, compiled with help from the American Psychoanalytic Association, are 12 examples of the gifts Freud left to us.
1) The Unconcious. Nothing Comes “Out of the Blue”: Freud discovered that there are no accidents and no coincidences. Even “random-seeming” feelings, ideas, impulses, wishes, events and actions carry important, often unconscious, meanings. Anyone who has ever made a “Freudian Slip” that has left them embarrassed or baffled will attest to the importance of the unconscious meanings of the things we do and say. That time you “accidentally” left your keys at your lover’s apartment may have been an accident; but more likely, at least unconsciously, you wanted to go back for more. From dreams, to Freudian slips, to free association — delving into one’s unconscious as a means of unlocking often hidden or denied fantasies, traumas or motivations is still crucial to gaining the whole truth about human behavior.
2) Sexuality is Everyone’s Weakness-and Strength: Sex is a prime motivator and common denominator for all of us. It is not a message many want to hear. So high is our disgust for these elementary Darwinian principles – that led to human triumph over all other living things — that we spent much of our time denying the dark side of our lives. Even the most prudent, puritanical-appearing individuals struggle greatly against their sexual appetites and expression. One need only look to the many scandals that have rocked the Vatican, fundamentalist churches, politicians and celebrities alike. Freud observed this prurient struggle in men and women early on in Victorian Vienna and extrapolated easily from there.
3) A Cigar is Never Just a Cigar (except when it is): It is a commonly accepted idea in contemporary psychology that everything is determined by multiple factors and also idiosyncratic to the individual. So, nothing is so simply determined. So is it a pacifier? Okay. A penis? Perhaps. A cigar? Sure. However, few would argue that all meanings have profound implications. No controversy here. So go ahead, have a cigar.
4) Every Part of the Body is Erotic: Freud knew that human beings were sexual beings right from the start. He took his inspiration from the baby nursing at the mother’s breast to illustrate the example of more mature sexuality, saying, “No one who has seen a baby sinking back satiated from the breast and falling asleep with flushed cheeks and a blissful smile can escape the reflection that this picture persists as a prototype of the expression of sexual satisfaction later in life.” He knew, too, that sexual excitation is not restricted to genitalia, as pleasure is achieved through erotic attachment to potentially any idiosyncratically defined area of the body, and most definitely not limited to genital intercourse between a male and female. Even today many people have great difficulty accepting this idea.
5) Thought is a Roundabout Way of Wishing: Freud discovered that the mere act of thinking (wishing and fantasizing) is itself gratifying. In fact, what therapists and psychoanalysts commonly observe is that the fantasy is more mentally and physically stimulating fulfilling than the actual, real life action the fantasy is organized around. Is it any wonder that reality doesn’t measure up to the intense, vivid fantasy? Freud’s observation that humans’ attempt to fantasize things into reality is today fully accepted by neuroscientists as the basis for imagination.
6) Talking Cures: “If someone speaks, it gets lighter” From Freud’s introduction lecture XXV.
Whether an individual’s therapy is based in Freudian psychoanalysis or some other form of talk therapy, the evidence is clear that talking helps alleviate emotional symptoms, lessen anxiety and frees up the person’s mind. While medication and brief therapy can often be effective in alleviating symptoms, talk therapy uses the powerful tool of the therapeutic relationship. The whole person is involved in the treatment, not just a set of symptoms or a diagnosis, therefore deeper and more lasting change becomes possible.
7) Defense Mechanisms: The term “defense mechanism” is so much a part of our basic understanding of human behavior that we take it for granted. Yet, this is another construct developed and theorized by the Freuds (Sigmund and his daughter, Anna). According to Freud, defense mechanisms are psychological strategies brought into play by the unconscious mind to manipulate, deny or distort reality in order to protect against feelings of anxiety and/or unacceptable impulses.
Among the many types of defense mechanisms coined by Freud, i.e. repression, rationalization, projection, denial is perhaps the most well known. Denial is an outright refusal to admit or recognize that something has occurred or is currently occurring. Denial can be personal-for example denying an addiction or denying a painful life experience-but it can also take the form of denying scientific, social and cultural phenomena – for example, the reality of climate change or the Holocaust.
8) Resistance to Change: Our minds and behavior patterns inherently resist change. It’s new, it’s threatening and it’s unwelcome – even when it’s a change for the good. Psychoanalysis got this ubiquitous principle of resistance right, and found tools to bring it to consciousness and defeat its stubborn ability to create obstacles to forward movement, both of individuals and groups.
9) The Past Impacts the Present: This might seem like a no-brainer to most of us in 2015, but more than 100 years ago, this was an “ahh-ha” moment for Freud. Today, many of Freud’s theories on childhood development and the effects of early life experience on later behavior contribute greatly to helping and treating patients whose lives are stuck in repetitive patterns.
10) Transference: An example of the past impacting the present is the concept of transference, another Freud construct that is widely understood and utilized in today’s psychology practices. Transference refers to very strong feelings, hopes, fantasies and fears we have in relation to the important relationships of our childhood that carry forward, unconsciously, and impact present day relationships.
11) Development: Human development continues throughout the life cycle; a successful life depends on adaptability and mastery of change as it confronts each of us. Every new stage of life presents challenges and provides the opportunity to reassess our core personal goals and values.
12) The Price of Civilization is Neurotic Discontent: Freud stated, “The inclination to aggression constitutes the greatest impediment to civilization.” Few thinkers have looked so unflinchingly at human aggression as Freud. While the guns of August still echoed and European anti-Semitism grew rife, Freud wrote Civilization and Its Discontents (1929), declaring: “Man is wolf to man. Who … will have the courage to dispute this assertion?” “Men are not gentle creatures who want to be loved,” Freud wrote in 1929, using words as relevant today as then, “but rather, (are) creatures whose instinct (is) aggressiveness.” We continue to meet the enemy…and it is us. Yet if we cannot change, what will happen to our civilization?”
The Nazi invaders in World War II banned and attacked Freud, as did the Communists afterwards. New Yorker editor David Remnick quotes a Hamas leader saying that Israel must be destroyed because “the media – it’s controlled by the Jews. Freud, a Jew, was the one who destroyed morals.”
But Freud did not like America. He thought that Americans had channeled their sexuality into an unhealthy obsession with money.
He wrote to a German friend after World War I, “Is it not sad, that we are materially dependent on these savages, who are not a better class of human beings?”
Ironically, America, in the end, turned out to be a most favorable repository of Freud’s exquisite legacy of ideas.
Posted: 05/07/2015
