Fascinating discussion.
It does highlight the improtance of behavioral interventions in general and sexual health in particular.
Perhaps this finding serves to validate some neurophysiological-correlates and a surrogate of some psychosocial obeservations that are already known.
On one end of spectrum, individuals with depression have higher mortality. Same is true of loneliness. Those folks die sooner.
Sex-induced surge of serotonins, oxytocin, endorphins, dopamine, adrenaline flooding neural pathways leads to overall happiness and satisfaction! This translates into a fulfilled life!
The neurotransmitters released during sex dynamically reshape neural pathways through synaptic tuning, excitability adjustments, and enduring plasticity, integrating immediate physical responses with emotional and cognitive outcomes. Same is true of long-term meditators that can self-induce high-amplitude gamma oscillations during meditation especially pronounced in the frontal cortex, indicating neuroplastic changes and enhanced attention or sensory integration. Thats a long path though to experience “escape” though!
Then you have nitiric oxide released during foreplay and actual play peripherally!
Same internal milieu is replicated during acts of intimacy, cuddling or other non-ordinary exepriences besides sexual orgasm. They range from risky adventures like deep dives+breath holds, hand gliding, (but they hardly contribute to longevity) to safer practices like meditation( which needs dedication and practice), outdoor nature walks, hikes, even having a pet/walking dog.
Having more sex and intimacy is relatively simple recipe and easy to incorporate if one has an access to a sexual partner.
Just having a few close friends can go long ways as well.
In Blue zones, the loneliness is not an issue!
In certain parts of US, it is a huge challenge across the entire cross section of society.
Does sex with Rosy Palm count?
Is there an RCT? …20
“People who have sex every week have 50% lower all cause mortality rates”
I’m surprised that I have lived this long.
Partial credit. 
Orgasm is a health booster, and being able to orgasm is a biomarker of health.
Don’t know how my mother survived till 93 !Does it mean it’s a possibility for her to live up to 140 if she introduces healthy sex once a week now?
What if you orgasm in a nonphysical context? Like in response to a work of art? I can’t say I’ve heard of orgasm in such cases, but I do know of many instances of sex organ arousal with musical, visual etc. art experiences. This may be TMI, but even I experienced such on one occasion, when I was in an atelier of a fashion designer, and I saw a stunningly beautiful dress on a table… I had to sit down strategically to avoid embarrasment. I mentioned this to another designer, and he very matter of factly related how plenty of women have very real physical reactions to some sensual fabrics. This phenomenon is even reflected in language. I was quite amused to hear a chess commentator exclaim “that’s a sexy move” during a chess match commentary - I’ve never experienced sexual arousal watching a chess game, though I have been brought to tears by a particularly beautiful sequence of moves. The point being, that perhaps it’s less about the orgasm itself, than wonderful experiences, flow of hormones and such vitality enhancing treatments. Just another possibility😁.
Since you asked me, as though I’m an expert on this (and sure, I know a bit, she said modestly), I do know that it’s possible to map orgasmic experiences (and actual orgasms, at least with training) onto non-direct stimulation inputs. I know of a research study with women who could think themselves into an orgasm (necessary for the research because the measurements they were taking required as little movement as possible), so that’s clearly a thing that some people can do. Heck, some of us have orgasms in our sleep.
In short, if you can get aroused and maybe even hit an orgasmic peak from something conceptual, aesthetic, or dreamed, I think that’s to the good, health-wise – a clear win for body & brain. While the physiological effects of orgasms differ between male and female bodies, orgasms seem to be good for both.
You ask about being aroused without orgasm and suggest that also serves to support hormones and vitality, and I would think so as well. I would surmise those experiences are also a net physical benefit – as long as a person doesn’t get frustrated enough (with being stimulated without release) to vent that in a destructive way, which, you know, some do.
While I suspect it is not the same benefit, we are all very different, and we should take our benefits (and beauty) where we can find them. (A beautiful sequence of chess moves! Lovely!)
Yes, and then there’s the whole tantric thing. People have experimented with sex and sensual experiences for thousands of years.
Yes, humans have experimented with sex and sensual experience for thousands of years. More likely tens of thousands and beyond.
I think it’s important to note that Classical Tantra was not focused on sex, as many people seem to think, but on awakening; it didn’t push sex away, but neither were the majority of practices focused on sex in particular. (Classical Tantra is not Neo-Tantra. A good article on this here: Classical Tantra & Neo-Tantra)
Yay! One less thing to add which is great news for me! Thank you husband.
Is there one eReCT?
Fixed that for ya 
and close friends with benefits 
I’m surprised this isn’t a bigger thing. What could possibly be a better marker of living a great life as a human being than having great sex everyday with someone you love. When I was 20, sex everyday seemed like air and water: important but easy. At 63, it’s an entirely different deal.
After a long time with very little sex in my life (as a result of low desire), at the start of last year I set about changing that. Starting in August, I have wanted to and have had sex nearly everyday with someone I love. It was an incredibly difficult thing to accomplish.
Imagine how good your levers of health have to be to actually want to have sex everyday and have such a good romantic relationship that you can actually have great sex everyday with someone you love…
I think it is a magnificent marker of: cardiovascular health, sex hormone health, stress / sleep health, and social connection health. Good sexual function and desire can be very hard to restore. And a loving, physical relationship that allows for ongoing daily sex is amazingly hard work.
A older person has to be doing a lot of things right to have the daily sex biomarker near 100%. In this regard, my biological age is around 20 years old. I’m satisfied with that.
TED Talk from the author of
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
Humorous, but fact filled. Best to listen to her than to do an AI summary. AI is poor on humor delivery. Vid is short - 17 min.
Strengths & limitations: Clear strengths of the present study include the large representative sample of the noninstitutionalized US population as well as the identification of precise estimates in relation to sexual activity and mortality. However, because of the observational nature of the study design, causality could not be determined. 
maybe needs to control for stuff like the basic mortality variables…bmi, smoking, cholesterol, etc and see if there is still any strong correlation between sex and mortality lol
Just ran into this rather humorous, and true, statement by Bill Gifford (who wrote “Outlive” book with Peter Attia).
Full article:
Why Bryan Johnson, Dave Asprey, and the Other Longevity Bros Are Obsessed With Penises
“Dave Asprey, and the Other Longevity Bros Are Obsessed With Penises”
Well, most young men are, but most of us outgrow it by the time we reach the age of Dave Asprey."
I kept scrolling hoping for ONE good joke and it took about 23 posts to get a good one here
