CANADA — Female and frustrated by a sluggish libido? The solution is the same regardless of gender or sexual inclination, but what it is and how to achieve it may surprise both men and women. It’s testosterone.According to recent studies on the subject, women who cuddle or copulate experience higher levels of naturally occurring testosterone than do those who abstain. This, in turn, — at least for women — leads to an increased desire for intercourse, an increased chance of orgasm, and an increased self-perception of overall sexiness.

This is good news for both men and women whose lust for lust has lagged, since it strongly suggests that it is within each person’s ability to bring back at least some of their lost or lagging sexual vigor, vim, and vitality by indulging in more snuggling and overtly sexual behavior.

Men have long known that their testosterone levels have much to do with the development of their sexual characteristics, but the fact women that women produce testosterone as well, and can also benefit from slight elevations in it, may be news to many.

Lead study author and researcher at Canada’s Simon Fraser University’s Department of Psychology, Sari van Anders, is cautious but optimistic when she observes on the Discovery News site that “Our paper does suggest that there might be sexual benefits to higher levels of testosterone.”

Van Anders’ team conducted two separate studies, the of which have been accepted for publication in the journal Hormones and Behavior.

First, the team studied the response of 49 women’s testosterone levels prior to and following cuddling, intercourse, and exercise. What they found was that women experienced higher levels of testosterone both just before and just after cuddling and intercourse. The latter produced the highest levels of testosterone, with those women who experienced the greatest increases also reporting more orgasms and a stronger feeling of sexual attractiveness the next day.

“We don’t know how testosterone increases after sex and close physical intimacy might benefit women,” van Anders observes, “but some possibilities to examine in future studies include increased sexual desire, more positive moods, or more energy.”

Then the team took at look at the types of relationships that subjects were involved with and how that might affect testosterone levels related to sexual activity. Single, monogamous, and polyamorous men and women were included, with the latter being defined as those involved in multiple but committed relationships. Perhaps unsurprisingly, those involved in polyamorous relationships were found to have higher amounts of testosterone than single or monogamously partnered individuals. Interestingly enough, however, was the fact the lowest levels of testosterone were detected in monogamously partnered men and women.

Van Anders’ team surmises that this may be a result of what they call “bond maintenance,” meaning that the hormone helps prepare a person for sexual competition, either against other prospective lovers or in preparation for pregnancy.

The results of van Anders’ studies has been declared “interesting, because they provide another nuance to previous work in this area” by Peter Gray, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology and Ethnic Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. “These studies show that our social relationships and gonads have their own relationships.”

Gray, who has also conducted studies on testosterone, partnerships, and sexual activity, refers to studies that observed sperm from various men competing with one another in attempts to fertilize an egg while being affected by biological forces within women to determine which succeeds.