In her private counseling practice, Meana sees many couples in which the woman “will completely avoid certain sex positions because she’s embarrassed by how she thinks her body looks. But the husband hasn’t even thought of that. He’s shocked ‘That’s why you won’t get on top? Because you think your breasts sag?!’”
A slightly different aspect of desire has been the focus of studies by University of Utah psychologist Lisa Diamond, Ph. D. She’s been interviewing a group of roughly 100 women for nearly 15 years, asking them questions about changes in their sexual cravings and reactions over time. “Many women feel that desire is fluid and based on who they’re coming into contact with,” Diamond says. “Desire is often the result of an emotional connection.” In some cases, that connection can be a close friendship—even one with another woman.
Brotto offers two possible explanations: “Women are consummate multitaskers, and society rewards this ability.” Women have become so good at doing a million things at once—talking on the phone, cooking dinner, watching TV, reading a magazine—that it often becomes hard to slow it down or turn it off during sex and just enjoy the moment. Sound familiar?
Ask a man what the magic formula is for turning on a woman sexually and you’re likely to be met with a heaving shrug. For years, scientists have been just as perplexed. And to a large degree, arousal has mystified even women themselves. The only consensus: the female mind, heart, and genitals all need to be in on the effort in order for arousal to occur. But recently, a handful of sex researchers have gotten on the case—and their fascinating findings may help improve your sex life.
Suffering from memory melt? It may be because you’re cutting carbs, a study in Appetite reports.
Usually a headache is just a headache, and heartburn is just a sign that you rang the Taco Bell a few times too many. Except when they’re not.
Researchers assessed 82 men and women, ages 18 to 66, who were awaiting an emergency psychiatric evaluation before being admitted to a community mental health hospital. They were asked about their nightmares, insomnia, depression and suicidal tendencies.
A study done by the Harvard Medical School looked at records from the Nurse’s Health Study, which included data from 90,000 women who were questioned on their dietary habits in 1991, 1995, and 1999. One thing the researchers learned was that red meat consumption is linked to a higher risk of breast cancer.
Being bootylicious is nothing to be ashamed of, but in today’s image-conscious society it’s no wonder that even the slightest dimple triggers a near meltdown. Though women may be the fairer sex, men get a fairer deal in this area: Men’s connective tissue effectively holds fat together under the skin, whereas women tend to have a shortage of this connective tissue, which causes excess fat to bulge out toward the skin’s surface in the form of cellulite. Women also tend to have a thinner outer layer, making each bump easier to see.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a type of mental illness that causes repeated unwanted thoughts. To get rid of the thoughts, a person does the same tasks over and over. For example, you may fear that everything you touch has germs on it. So to ease that fear, you wash your hands over and over again.