Why it’s important to drink water after sex

 

Are you skipping this crucial after-sex habit? Discover why you should drink water after sex and how this ritual can make a big difference in your overall health and wellbeing. 

KEY POINTS:

• Drinking water after sex can help to clean out the bladder and serve as prevention for UTIs.
• It helps one to prevent dehydration and replenish lost body fluids.
• It increases energy levels and relieves fatigue.

Water is essential for the healthy functioning of every system in the body. Drinking clean water is the best way to quench thirst and promote healthy digestion.

According to a 2020 study, drinking water regularly can help you to prevent dehydration – a condition that can impair memory, trigger the body to overheat, and result in constipation and kidney stones. 

In the same vein, when used in place of calorie-containing beverages like sugary drinks or soda, water can help with weight loss and calorie restriction.

5 benefits of drinking water: 

Credit: Canva

• Water aids to regulate the body temperature.
• It soothes and lubricates the joints.
• It safeguards the spinal cord and other sensitive body structures.
• Water helps to move nutrients around the body
• It is utilized to foster bowel motions, sweating, and urination to eliminate waste.

On why you should drink water after sex, research reveals that the body produces stress hormones when it’s dehydrated. 

By limiting blood flow and shrinking arteries to various sections of the body, these stress hormones (also known as cortisol) interfere with the body’s natural hormone levels and how it responds to sexual activity.

Most individuals find it hard to understand how drinking water is related to having sex. For starters, a lot of people sweat during sexual intercourse, which can be quite an exercise. Thus, drinking water is a very important thing to do after engaging in sexual activity. 

Top 3 reasons why you should drink water after sex

Credit: Canva

1. Cleans out the bladder: 

It is medically advised to urinate before and after sexual activity in order to clear pathogens from your urinary tract. 

By drinking water after sex, your frequency of urination will most likely increase. This aids in the removal of microorganisms from the urinary tract before an infection develops. 

Hence consuming water post-sex helps in the prevention of urinary tract infections (UTIs).

2. Prevent dehydration: 

During sexual intercourse, the body undergoes physical exertion and sweating, which can lead to a loss of fluids.

If these fluids are not replenished, it can lead to dehydration, which can cause symptoms such as thirst, dry mouth, and dizziness. 

By drinking water after sex, you can help replenish the fluids lost during the act and prevent yourself from being dehydrated, thereby helping you feel more refreshed and energized.

3. Increases energy levels and relieves fatigue: 

Sometimes, a sex session can be as intense and energy-sapping as working out. A very recent study notes that 25 to 30 minutes of sexual engagement is similar to running 4.8 kilometres. 

Therefore, post-sex energy decline is a true fact. So, drinking enough water increases the rate at which the body metabolism recovers this energy loss. 

Additionally, taking water can also help to fight the tiredness that comes with sex and will make you feel more energised. 

Not being adequately hydrated can interfere with the body’s natural energy-generating processes, leaving you with less stamina and even muscle cramps.

READ ALSO:

• How to practice safe sex and sexual responsibilities.
• Can Ampiclox prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex?
• 12 best foods you need for stronger and harder erections

Other things to do after sex

Credit: Canva

Apart from drinking water after sex, there are many other things you can do after sex to help you take care of your body as well as promote physical and emotional wellness, such as: 

Cleanse the genitals

Cleaning the genital area after sex is essential for maintaining good hygiene and preventing the spread of infections. 

Therefore, it’s important to take a few minutes after sex to clean your ‘privates’ thoroughly with warm water and mild soap, paying special attention to the folds of the skin and the anus. This simple step forms an important part of after-sex care.

To prevent the transmission of bacteria, women should wipe from front to back. Simply rinse the vulva and let the vagina take care of cleaning itself.

In the same way, men should give their genitals a mild tepid rinse to avoid any semen builds up or infection risk.

Check the condom (if your partner used one):

It is ideal to examine the condom used after sex for rip or puncture to determine whether you need to get tested for STIs or to take post-sex pregnancy preventive measures. Another top reason to check the condom after sex is to ensure that it has not been compromised or damaged.

Clean your sex toys

If you and your partner use sex toys, be sure to clean them up after your sexual encounters. In addition, washing them properly gets rid of any germs or bacteria as well as gets them ready for your subsequent use. 

Depending on the type of material used by manufacturers, each sex toy will come with distinct instructions. Products made of platinum-based silicone that don’t have motors can be sterilized using very hot water. 

Completely waterproof products can be cleaned with liquid antimicrobial soap and warm water. 

Wash the area of any product that comes into touch with bodily fluids or skin with liquid antibacterial soap and a washcloth dipped in hot water if the product has no cleaning instructions.

Don’t forget to always have a glass of water handy after sex. All that perspiration and fluid loss during sex can leave one thirsty, exhausted and spent.

References.

Centers for disease and control and prevention. (2022). Water and healthier drinks. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/healthy_eating/water-and-healthier-drinks.html

Deanna deBara. (2018). How to clean up after sex. https://www.healthline.com/health/healthy-sex/clean-up-after-sex

Jayne Leonard. (2020). What to know about cleaning up after sex. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/how-to-clean-up-after-sex

Laderer Ashley. (2022). How many calories does sex burn? What the research says and how to burn more. https://www.insider.com/guides/health/sex-relationships/how-many-calories-does-sex-burn

National Library of Medicine. (2023). Water. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Water

Rahul Gambhir. (2022). Should we drink water just after sex? Answered by a sexologist. https://manmatters.com/blog/should-we-drink-water-just-after-sex/

Vaidyanathan Uma. (2020). Just got laid? Don’t forget to follow these 4 absolutely essential post-sex habits. https://www.healthshots.com/intimate-health/sexual-health/what-to-do-after-sex/

Vanessa Raymond. (2018). Sex, drugs & cranberry juice: What you need to know about UTIs. https://www.uwmedicine.org/sites/stevie/files/2018-11/Sex%2C%20Drugs%20%26%20Cranberry%20Juice_%20What%20You%20Need%20to%20Know%20About%20UTIs%20_%20Right%20as%20Rain%20by%20UW%20Medicine.pdf

World Health Organisation. (2016). Be smart drink water. https://apps.who.int/rest/bitstream/retrieve

World Health Organisation. (2017). Guidelines for drinking-water quality, 4th edition, incorporating the 1st addendum. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241549950

Zawn Villines. (2020). What can cause dizziness to occur after sex?. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/dizziness-after-sexAli, M. A., Kazzam, E., Amir, N., Nyberg, F., & Adem, A. (2013). Effects of dehydration and blockade of angiotensin II AT1 receptor on stress hormones and anti-oxidants in the one-humped Camel. BMC Veterinary Research, 9, 232. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4225509/

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WHEN DOES THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS.

When Does the End Justify the Means?

5 MIN READ  CRITICAL THINKING

Photo by Jeremy Vessey

When does the end justify the means? This question has been asked for millennia, with the resulting answers rarely perfect in their finite form.

When we were young it was easy to think that the end justifies the means. If you wanted a cookie, you were more than happy to steal a cookie out of your younger sibling’s hands. The end justified the means because you wanted a cookie and you got one. The equation was absolute.

As we got older, most of us began to realize that in order to be kind and loving members of our community and society as a whole, we needed to consider other people’s feelings. We realized that it’s not socially acceptable to take what we want, when we want it, and that in fact we need to recognize that sometimes the ends don’t justify the means.

While you may consider yourself to be a person of character, how can you reconcile this belief with the fact that, when it comes down to it, you believe you must do whatever you can in order to get the results you believe will ultimately bring about the most good, even if other people may get hurt along the way?

This is where the idea of the ends justifying the means get tricky.

In this article, I’m going to look into what the end justifies the means actually means, I’m going to give you a deeper understanding of this philosophy and its origins, and I’m going to provide examples of how we continue to rationalize this thinking in the modern world.

What Does the End Justifies the Means Mean?

The phrase “the end justifies the means” is used to suggest that any activity, whether or not that activity could be considered ethically or morally bad, is worth doing so long as a desired end result is achieved.

The origins of the phrase go back to consequentialism. Consequentialism is a type of normative ethical theory. In its purest form, consequentialism holds that the moral quality of an action is completely determined by its consequences. Therefore, according to consequentialist theory, the end justifies the means in all circumstances.

Of course, for most of us this theory is difficult to square with our desire to get along with, and care for, other people; especially those within our immediate family, community, or friend group. Most of us feel that in many situations the end does not justify the means. That said, there are plenty of modern-day and historical examples, several of which we will touch upon below, in which this moral pull is ignored, and the ends of bad behavior win out.

Examples of the End Justifying the Means

Whether you agree or disagree with the below examples, they all represent how “the end justifies the means” thinking can drive human nature, for better or worse:

• Lying on a resume to get a job: In your mind, lying (or exaggerating the truth) on your resume may be justified if it helps you land the job of your dreams.
• Lying on a first date: First dates can be awkward, and if you want a first date to turn into a second, the idea of lying to impress the person across the table from you may seem to be a small price to pay to get a second chance to impress.
• Cheating in sports: From diving for an undeserved penalty, to the persistent problem of doping in sports, the end of placing a point ahead of your rivals or scoring the deciding goal can, in some athletes’ minds, justify the means.
• Lying during an election cycle:Whether you’re running for City Council or President of the United States, lying during an election cycle to deliver a blow to your opponent’s record (or to overstate your own) is a classic tactic. The line between outright lying and inflation of the truth is thin, and with so much at stake, it’s no surprise that “the end justifies the means” thinking rears its head.
• Going along with a false narrative:Whether you created the narrative or it was crafted for you, going along with a narrative that you know to be false—such as being hailed a hero for pulling someone from a burning building, where in reality you were only focused on getting yourself out—may justify the means of helping you achieve hero status, but it will gnaw away at you over time.

I should acknowledge that each of the above examples are different to the “fake it ‘til you make it” ideal, in which we are encouraged to work towards what we want by imitating a confident, competent, and optimistic mindset. Similarly, telling white lies to preserve someone’s feelings, so long as the lies doesn’t misinform them on an important topic, are an example of the end justifying the means for good.

There have been other examples of this phrase in action throughout history, both in literature and in non-fiction accounts.

In Heroides, a poem by Ovid that was written between 25-2 BC, Ovid writes “Exitus ācta probat,” or “The outcome justifies the deeds.” In Discourses: I, 9 of The Prince by Italian political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli, the author notes that “For although the act condemns the doer, the end may justify him.” And in the 1937 book of essays Ends and Means (an Enquiry Into the Nature of Ideals and Into the Methods Employed for Their Realization) by Aldous Huxley, which was first published in 1937, the famed author of Brave New World, spoke of war, religion, ethics, and nationalism, topics of which he believed end justifies the means thinking had permeated.

5 MIN READ  CRITICAL THINKING

Photo by Jeremy Vessey

When does the end justify the means? This question has been asked for millennia, with the resulting answers rarely perfect in their finite form.

When we were young it was easy to think that the end justifies the means. If you wanted a cookie, you were more than happy to steal a cookie out of your younger sibling’s hands. The end justified the means because you wanted a cookie and you got one. The equation was absolute.

As we got older, most of us began to realize that in order to be kind and loving members of our community and society as a whole, we needed to consider other people’s feelings. We realized that it’s not socially acceptable to take what we want, when we want it, and that in fact we need to recognize that sometimes the ends don’t justify the means.

While you may consider yourself to be a person of character, how can you reconcile this belief with the fact that, when it comes down to it, you believe you must do whatever you can in order to get the results you believe will ultimately bring about the most good, even if other people may get hurt along the way?

This is where the idea of the ends justifying the means get tricky.

In this article, I’m going to look into what the end justifies the means actually means, I’m going to give you a deeper understanding of this philosophy and its origins, and I’m going to provide examples of how we continue to rationalize this thinking in the modern world.

What Does the End Justifies the Means Mean?

The phrase “the end justifies the means” is used to suggest that any activity, whether or not that activity could be considered ethically or morally bad, is worth doing so long as a desired end result is achieved.

The origins of the phrase go back to consequentialism. Consequentialism is a type of normative ethical theory. In its purest form, consequentialism holds that the moral quality of an action is completely determined by its consequences. Therefore, according to consequentialist theory, the end justifies the means in all circumstances.

Of course, for most of us this theory is difficult to square with our desire to get along with, and care for, other people; especially those within our immediate family, community, or friend group. Most of us feel that in many situations the end does not justify the means. That said, there are plenty of modern-day and historical examples, several of which we will touch upon below, in which this moral pull is ignored, and the ends of bad behavior win out.

Examples of the End Justifying the Means

Whether you agree or disagree with the below examples, they all represent how “the end justifies the means” thinking can drive human nature, for better or worse:

• Lying on a resume to get a job: In your mind, lying (or exaggerating the truth) on your resume may be justified if it helps you land the job of your dreams.
• Lying on a first date: First dates can be awkward, and if you want a first date to turn into a second, the idea of lying to impress the person across the table from you may seem to be a small price to pay to get a second chance to impress.
• Cheating in sports: From diving for an undeserved penalty, to the persistent problem of doping in sports, the end of placing a point ahead of your rivals or scoring the deciding goal can, in some athletes’ minds, justify the means.
• Lying during an election cycle:Whether you’re running for City Council or President of the United States, lying during an election cycle to deliver a blow to your opponent’s record (or to overstate your own) is a classic tactic. The line between outright lying and inflation of the truth is thin, and with so much at stake, it’s no surprise that “the end justifies the means” thinking rears its head.
• Going along with a false narrative:Whether you created the narrative or it was crafted for you, going along with a narrative that you know to be false—such as being hailed a hero for pulling someone from a burning building, where in reality you were only focused on getting yourself out—may justify the means of helping you achieve hero status, but it will gnaw away at you over time.

I should acknowledge that each of the above examples are different to the “fake it ‘til you make it” ideal, in which we are encouraged to work towards what we want by imitating a confident, competent, and optimistic mindset. Similarly, telling white lies to preserve someone’s feelings, so long as the lies doesn’t misinform them on an important topic, are an example of the end justifying the means for good.

There have been other examples of this phrase in action throughout history, both in literature and in non-fiction accounts.

In Heroides, a poem by Ovid that was written between 25-2 BC, Ovid writes “Exitus ācta probat,” or “The outcome justifies the deeds.” In Discourses: I, 9 of The Prince by Italian political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli, the author notes that “For although the act condemns the doer, the end may justify him.” And in the 1937 book of essays Ends and Means (an Enquiry Into the Nature of Ideals and Into the Methods Employed for Their Realization) by Aldous Huxley, which was first published in 1937, the famed author of Brave New World, spoke of war, religion, ethics, and nationalism, topics of which he believed end justifies the means thinking had permeated.