PITTSBURGH — A study by Carnegie Mellon University suggests that looking at sexy photos of women can help men relieve stress.
Men’s Health reported that after viewing “semi-erotic” images of hot women, men’s panic reactions were cut in half compared to guys who viewed nonsexual photos.
And the guys who looked at sex shots also scored 50 percent higher on the math portion of a stress test administered by the University.
Ph.D, J. David Creswell, co-author of the study, said that when men are stressed their bodies create an over-abundance of the hormone cortisol that excites the nervous system and disrupts the brain’s problem-solving capabilities.
So by eyeballing the hot photos, men light up the brain’s reward pathways, thus limiting the creation of bad cortisol, according to the research.
The caveat however, is that the study’s subjects were tested before the stress test, making it unclear as to whether viewing the cheesecake photos would help during tough times.
But the report points out that just perusing some soft porn a few minutes a day may help men stay calm and mentally capable regardless of the circumstances.
