Lubricants in sex can give higher ratings of pleasure

Lubricant use during sexual activity alone or with a partner contributes to higher ratings of pleasurable and satisfying sex, a new study has revealed.

Personal lubricants have long been recommended to women to improve the comfort of sexual intercourse and to reduce the risk of vaginal tearing, yet strikingly little available data is available on women''s use of lubricants or associated vaginal symptoms.

The study, conducted by Debby Herbenick, associate director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at IU''s School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, involved women who used one of six different water- or silicone-based lubricants.

The study involving 2,453 women ages 18 to 68 also found that side effects were rarely associated with lubricant use; vaginal tearing occurred during less than 1 percent of vaginal intercourse events and genital pain was reported in less than 5 percent of intercourse acts when lubricant was used.

The study is being presented at the APHA conference.

More than half committed Aussies engaged in cyber sex: study

More than half of all people who engaged in online sex were married or in a serious relationship, and some people were doing it as much as 10 hours a day, Australian research showed on Thursday.

The typical participant was a well-educated man with an average age of 41 years who preferred to look at sexual images rather than engage in interactive-type chat, the Swinburne University of Technology found.

Of the study's 1,325 subjects, 55 per cent said they were married or considered themselves to be in a serious relationship, said lead researcher Marcus Squirrell.

And 65 per cent of people who had some form of online sexual contact with someone said they went on to meet them in real life, Squirrell said.

Many used sites to explore their sexuality in a safe environment, but some developed serious addictions to online sex, he added.

"These people are putting so much energy into cybersex -- in some cases up to 10 hours per day -- that it is detracting from their relationship with their partner," he told national newswire AAP.

"It can also adversely affect other areas of their lives, such as their education and employment."