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Erotic Videos Turn Women On - Could Be Treatment for Female Sexual Dysfunction
Female sexual dysfunction is reported to affect more than 40% of women. But here's a tip for women who need a little help. Rent an erotic video.
This finding from a new study could help therapists treat female sexual dysfunction. The study appears in this month's issue of Fertility & Sterility, and sheds light on women's arousal, which thus far has been somewhat of a mystery.
While much is known about men's arousal, little research has been done into what turns women on, writes lead researcher Mary Lake Polan, MD, PhD, an obstetrics and gynecology researcher at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Women's arousal is more complex than men's, perhaps because women are less aware of genital changes than men are, she explains. The physiological changes that occur when women become aroused have not been given much study -- like vaginal blood flow, she adds.
Polan's study involves 20 sexually active, heterosexual women, all 20 to 30 years old. None had any emotional or sexual problems.
First, they watched three minutes of relaxation tapes with soft music and nature scenes -- nothing the least bit erotic. Then they watched eight minutes of erotic segments -- couples flirting, then engaging in various sexual activities and intercourse.
While they watched, the women's breathing rate, heart rate, and vaginal blood flow were monitored via electrodes attached to medical devices. The women also reported their own feelings of sexual arousal.
Two minutes -- that's all it took for women to get turned on, but only when watching erotic videos. And that was whether or not the sound was turned on.
The finding could help improve therapy for women suffering from sexual dysfunction, writes Polan. Thus far, drugs that work with men -- like Viagra -- have not offered much help to women, she adds.
She cautions that since women in her study had no history of sexual arousal problems, her findings may not apply to all women.
Nevertheless, the study helps give researchers more clues to the mysteries of women's sexual arousal, and help them treat sexual dysfunction.
Source: WebMD Medical News
December 19, 2003
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