"My doctor told me to have more orgasms, and I was shocked."

Last week, I went to the doctor. Nothing was wrong in particular, but lately I have been trying to take stock of my health. I have gained weight and have been feeling really sluggish so I made an appointment.

I have moved around quite a lot for work so the doctors I’ve seen in the past have always been whoever can fit me in at the last minute, and they have typically been male and barely spoken a word to me as they filled out my medical certificate for work.

So when I tried a new place I was excited to see a woman who came at me beaming. I felt stupid as I sat down and realised I had no real reason for being there but I explained that I just wanted a check up she seemed totally on board with it. She did all the medical stuff first checking everything and then we spoke about how my work hours in breakfast radio have left me feeling really sluggish and she was dishing out wonderful medical advice talking about the best time to eat based on my work hours. Apparently 4 o’clock in the afternoon is right for dinner time, due to my early bedtime of 8.

I was lapping it all up, and she really seemed to listen to my concerns. I also made a brief mention that I had felt stressed recently and had really bad period pain, and what she said next made me raise an eyebrow. She said, ‘you should try to have more orgasms’ – and I was shocked!

She told me it really helps with stress reduction and also helps with bad period pain, then she went on to explain some medical reasons behind it that I instantly forgot.

I know this seems like it would come from a doctor who practiced in a tie dye coat and had turned her front room into a medical centre but this lady was well spoken and looked very professional. She also ordered a blood test for me to check everything was OK. As I was getting ready to leave, she again said, 'don’t forget what I told you,' so as soon as I left I did some of my own research, and it turns out she knew EXACTLY what she was talking about.

As soon as I googled: 'do orgasms help your health' countless articles “came” up (for lack of a better word).

I read about research gathered at Groningen University in the Netherlands, that found that when women experience an orgasm, the amygdala, the part of the brain associated with fear and anxiety, shows little to no activity. Orgasm also releases the stress and tension in our reproductive area and loosens it, so that when the blood starts to flow, driven by the contraction of uterine muscles - there is less of a struggle and thus less pain.

It also could be the the key for us living longer. Howard S. Friedman, PhD, and author of The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life, decided to look into research conducted on couples. He cited a marital satisfaction study conducted by Stanford psychologist Lewis Terman in 1941, looking at the sex lives of 1,500 Californian couples. Terman recorded the frequency of orgasms these women had. Twenty years later, Friedman and his colleagues studied the death certificates of each of the women in Terman's study. What they discovered was that the women who reported a frequency of orgasm during intercourse tended to live longer than those who reported being less sexually fulfilled.

Furthermore, Dr. David Weeks, a British consultant clinical psychologist, discovered that those between the ages of 40 and 50 who reported having sex 50 percent more than other respondents looked younger. He said this could be because intercourse releases the human growth hormone, which makes skin look more elastic.

So ladies, know of anyone who can help you fill your script?

Carly Portch is a breakfast announcer on Hot FM Central Queensland. For more from Carly, you can follow her on Facebook and Twitter.