If sex is becoming a chore, try to blot out the negatives and realize instead that your bedroom athletics have a lot of positive health benefits,” says Brett McCann, senior lecturer in sexual health at the University of Sydney in Australia. “Recent research shows sex lowers the frequency of fatal heart attacks, burns calories, and decreases breast cancer in men.” Other research has suggested that for young men, having frequent ejaculations decreases the risk of prostate cancer in later life, and that people who have regular intercourse have better stress responses and lower blood pressure.

Sex can even help you avoid getting sick, according to a study. How? Possible theories include that sexually active people may have more immunity since they are exposed to many more infectious agents than non-sexually active people. It may also boost the production of an immune substance that helps fight colds and flu.