The research, conducted by the University of Oxford in partnership with University of Coventry, involved 73 participants comprising 28 men and 45 women, aged 50-83.

Participants were required to complete a series of questions on their general health, lifestyle as well as frequency of sex.

Meanwhile, to measure the participants’ cognitive ability, the study also included Addebrooke’s Cognitive Examination-III (ACE III), a test designed to measure verbal fluency to reflect cognitive ability through several methods, such as naming as many animals as possible in 60 seconds and reciting words beginning with the letter “F.”

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Furthermore, to determine visuospatial perception (a cognitive function, referring the capability to process and interpret visuals), participants were asked to visualize an object.

Results showed that the most sexually active respondents scored the highest in both test.

However, the study also discovered that the frequency of sex did not influence the participants' attention span, memory capacity or language skills, as they all performed equally well in this area.  

The University of Oxford’s website reported that the study was created based on previous research from 2016, which discovered that more sexually active older adults scored highly on cognitive tests.

“People don’t like to think that older people have sex – but we need to challenge this conception at a societal level and look at what impact sexual activity can have on those aged 50 and over, beyond the known effects on sexual health and general well-being,” said Dr. Hayley Wright, lead researcher from Coventry University's Center for Research in Psychology, Behavior and Achievement. (jes/kes)