CLEVELAND -- Many people do whatever it takes to be healthy.

NewsChannel5's Health Reporter Alicia Booth said sex can be added to the list.

For men and women, sex may be just what the doctor ordered to boost health and even live longer.

Booth said most people already know that running, cycling and aerobics are good for you, but so is sex.

"Making love exercises so many different muscles," said Ava Cadell, a clinical sexologist. "It actually exercises every muscle in the body."

Cadell said that there are a lot of reasons to have sex, and it's a lot of fun.

"It's good for the respiratory, all that heavy breathing," she said. "It relieves tension. Sex is good for the cardiovascular. Sex can even work as a laxative."

And don't use the old excuse, "Oh, not tonight, honey. I have a headache."

"Don't say you have a headache because sex is good for a headache," Cadell said.

Sex can also help you live longer.

A recent study found that men who had sex more than twice a week are half as likely to die than men who had sex less than once a month.

Intimacy adds to the benefits of sex.

Paul Pearsall, a scientist, said the connection with a partner makes all the difference.

"Not just touching their body or making love, but truly connecting," Pearsall said. "A word that Hawaiians call, for example, lokahi, that unity, harmonious, intimate connection with someone else."

Pearsall's research proves that when you are in love, your oxytocin, the calming hormone, goes up and cortisol, the stress hormone, goes down, Booth said.

She added that sex can be used to relieve pain and menstrual cramps and even boost estrogen.