Skincare routines, ice baths, meditation, and more—these tools and methods have become more emphasized than ever thanks to the self-care movement. Women especially are learning to prioritize their physical and mental well-being to combat issues associated with the workplace and parental fatigue. But a new study reveals how literal self-love seems to be lacking in self-care.
According to a recent study, women have a hard time defining sexual wellness and don’t even realize that it can and should be part of their wellness regimen. If you’re puzzled by what that means, or blushing at the thought of it, let us explain – start incorporating sexual activities, including touching yourself, into your ongoing self-care routines, ladies.
The online survey (conducted by Proof Strategies Inc.) surveyed 1,000 Canadian women aged 20 and found that 93% of Canadian women “don’t understand what sexual wellness is or how to add it to their self-care routines.” The survey was conducted by Shoppers Drug Mart and shared with now torontowho reported about it on February 2nd.
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The results look a little bleak, especially with how far we’ve come in terms of contemporary sexual education and liberation: the survey found that “more than half of Canadian women are unaware or misinformed about the health benefits of sexual stimulation” and that some women believed that “there are no benefits to sexual well-being”.
So while we’ve gone as far as inventing vibrators that your partner can control using an app, it seems like there’s still a long way to go in terms of how sexual wellness can be incorporated into our lives more often. This is important too, because the benefits of adding sexual wellness to your routine include “increased blood flow, reduced stress, and improved sleep,” which we could all use a little more.
The survey results point to the idea that many sexual topics still seem “taboo” for many generations, but Gen Z is rapidly changing that direction. This group sees sexual well-being as “important to physical and mental health, and women in this generation are more open to discussing sexual well-being with friends and romantic partners.”
“The younger the respondent, the more likely they are to agree that people should be able to discuss sexual well-being as openly as any other form of well-being,” the survey added.
What are some ways to get sexual wellness into your self-care routine as regularly as you use a face mask sheet?
Having more open, honest, and frequent discussions about sexual well-being with your partner is a great start, but even if you’re going it alone these days, there’s one sexual practice that everyone can do (and enjoy): masturbation.
Alexandra Fine, a sexologist and co-founder of sex toys and sex education company, Dame, swears by it. “Taking time for self-pleasure is one of the many ways women can maintain space to cultivate their life force,” she says. hello giggles.
“Using a vibrator can help vulvar women understand their own ‘pleasure map,’” which has the ability to change over time as our sexual needs evolve, just like any self-care routine.
So make extra room for extra pleasure and let the benefits of sexual wellness come (come?) to you.