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In a healthy relationship, sexting is a wonderful practice that helps bring partners closer together
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A new study has found that reading a naughty message causes a surge in women's 'feel good' hormones, increases their ability to process information, and makes them more attentive and alert.
Men should take note: passionate messages that include kissing and gentle caressing elicit a stronger response than those that are too raunchy. The researchers used excerpts from the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy because past research has shown that heterosexual women prefer erotic writing over videos. "This is perhaps because, unlike men, women often find more ‘humanity’ in stories or novels," the study said. "The characters have names, stories, and their own desires. Literature provides guidelines that highlight the important relationships developing between participants in a sexual relationship. Unlike erotic videos, reading allows you to add or remove elements based on your preferences, creating a personalized fantasy."
Researchers at the University of Guadalajara in Mexico analyzed the brains of 27 heterosexual women between 20 and 30 years old while they read both Sexually Explicit Texts (SET) and Sexually Explicit Texts with Aggression (SETA). Each message consisted of 700 words, divided into paragraphs of 70 to 100 words each from the Fifty Shades of Grey excerpts. For SETA examples, the researchers included sections featuring whipping, spanking, and bondage. SET messages focused on descriptions of sexual activity like passionate kissing, fondling, and explicit sexual descriptions. The team made recordings using electrodes placed on the right and left prefrontal, temporal, and parietal locations in the brain. The study found that messages with an aggression component still had a positive response; subjects didn't find them 'unpleasant' or 'aversive.'
Researchers observed activation in the prefrontal cortex when women read SETA; this region controls goal-directed behaviors like planning, attention, and emotional processing. However, subjects rated SET as more enjoyable compared to sexual messages with aggression. Women also had more activation in brain areas involved in tasks like planning, remembering information, and controlling impulses. "Both texts were classified for the women as generators of general activation and sexual arousal," the study reads.
Sexting also activates the body's limbic system, which is controlled by the amygdala, a part of the brain that processes emotions
Scientists found that sexting elicited a response in the prefrontal and temporal locations of the brain responsible for processing emotions, "indicating that women are not only more alert but also more sexually receptive to this kind of material." Research has shown that sexting is a great way to release dopamine in the brain, often known as the 'feel good' hormone because it creates feelings of pleasure and satisfaction. It also delivers oxytocin, sometimes called the 'love or cuddle hormone' because it creates a feeling of closeness and connection to your partner.
"Sexting is an act of sexual empowerment because it's a part of sexual communication," Dr. Tara Suwinyattichaiporn, a relationship coach and sex educator who wasn't involved in the study, said. "When you engage in healthy sexual communication, you're giving yourself permission to express your sexual self, and that's great for your sexual self-esteem."
ORIGINS OF SEXTING
Sexting kicked off in the early 2000s as a way for people to creatively express their yearning for another person and provided a platform for them to ask for all the naughty things they want and deserve. Since then, it has become more commonplace among young adults, as couples share their sexual desires with their partners by sending nude photos and explicit text messages.
Sexting also activates the body's limbic system, which is controlled by the amygdala, a part of the brain that processes emotions, particularly fear and anxiety. That sudden rush you feel after sending a raunchy text is your brain activating an anxiety-inducing fight-or-flight response.
It's important to send your partner raunchy messages
That initial fear-based response is triggered because of the risk that comes with sending explicit messages and the feeling that you're doing something bad or naughty. "For some, sexting can be awkward and confusing because you don’t have non-verbal cues like facial expressions and body language to add context, which sometimes leads to misinterpretation," Dr. Justin Lehmiller, Research Fellow at the Kinsey Institute and host of the Sex and Psychology Podcast, said.
You might have thoughts like: "I hope I'm not the only one into this right now" or "He/she hasn't responded. Was that too much?" A 2018 study found that sexting can be good for your relationship and that those who sent dirty texts and photos more often had higher sexual satisfaction with their partner. "In a healthy relationship, sexting is a wonderful practice that helps bring partners closer together," Suwinyattichaiporn said.
"It contributes to excitement and novelty in the sexual relationship and helps couples bond over doing 'taboo' activity together."
Torch Media Africa
