Survey: Sex Can Be Stressful, Deadly

By Katy Kelleher | June 24, 2010 | 9:00pm

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A recent survey from the UK found that one in 20 people over the age of 45 worry about having a heart attack during sex, and 31% of Britons have stopped sexual activity because they were too tired to continue.

Of the 1,752 participants, 26% confessed that they feel “completely exhausted” after sex. Surveyors also found that 43% of respondents are having sex less often than they did in their youth, and a fairly large portion are worried about the possibility that they could actually die from having too much fun. A spokesman for the company that commissioned the study suggests middle-aged couples should start looking after their bodies better, which will naturally lead to a better sex life. “The results of the survey highlight that maintaining a healthy lifestyle together with taking care of your heart, could help keep your sex life on track. By doing so the 31 percent cutting a session short due to exhaustion, may have more energy to carry on,” said Iain Laing. This might also help the 5% freaked out about heart failure relax enough to enjoy the moment.

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But not too much. We’re not generally given to bashing kinks here, but sometimes enough is enough. Especially when sex can actually result in serious injury, or even death, like it did in a recent case in Brecht, Belgium. A 58-year-old British man reportedly collapsed following an encounter with Mistress Lucrezia, a sex worker who describes herself as “Europe’s most perverted dominatrix.” After a particularly “intense session” with the dom and her assistant, Mistress Juno, the man was found keeled over in the shower. Forensic experts believe he might have died from nitrous oxide, which the doms apparently gave him to act as an anesthetic for the “extreme pain.” The two women have been arrested and charged with assault and battery leading to death, without intent to kill.

Could this have been avoided? Perhaps. There is something to be said of knowing the limits of one’s body – and apparently, this man pushed himself to the very edge, with the help of a few willing “sadistic” participants. Though this case is extreme (and his tastes seem somewhat excessive), the fact that 26% of survey respondents report feeling “shattered” after sex might point to something other than heart health and physical ability, something that is tied to the ever-growing desire for over-the-top sexuality. I suspect that all the worry about “good” sex has made a fun, relaxing event into somewhat of a competitive sport. Porn (and movies and television) tell us that sex should be harder, faster, longer, and with more bells and whistles than ever before. But maybe it’s time to chill out a little, stop and smell the latex and enjoy the moment (and this applies to people of all ages, not just the over-45 set). Sex should only be shattering in the very best sense – it shouldn’t be exhausting or stressful or truly dangerous. I hate to say it, but if it kills you, you might be doing it wrong.

Poll: One In 20 Fear Sex Heart Attacks [UPI]
British Man Dies After Sex Session With ‘Europe’s Most Perverted Dominatrix’ [Telegraph]

Image via Yuri Arcurs/Shutterstock