New study finds having sex makes you smarter

The juvenile phrase “Don’t be dumb, get you some” is, almost unbelievably, scientifically valid.
The Atlantic reports researchers in Maryland and South Korea have concluded “sexual activity in mice and rats improves mental performance and increases” the production of brain cells.
Maryland researchers found middle-aged rats that had sex had improved cognitive function and better memory (and likely memories) than rats that did not have sex.
Korean scientists in a separate study had similar findings, saying “sexual activity counteracts the memory-robbing effects of chronic stress in mice.”
I’ve never been a lab rat, but I imagine that is a stressful job.
Being smart does not mean you will have more sex, The Atlantic reports as though someone actually thinks that is how life works.
Studies have concluded intelligent people have less sex when young, but at an advanced age, “cognitive abilities affect one’s chances of getting lucky.”
An interesting statistic: 32 percent of the elderly with mild cognitive impairment reported having sex recently, about half the rate of the mentally unimpaired.
Sadly, one cannot get smarter simply by visiting a Nevada bunny ranch.
Tracey J. Shors, a psychologist at the Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers University, says it also takes something called “successful learning” to retain extra brain cells.
“You can make new cells with exercise, Prozac and sex,” she said. “If you do mental training, you’ll keep alive more cells that you produced. And if you do both, now you have the best of both worlds—you’re making more cells and keeping more alive.”
Oh well, at least the next time my wife tells me I’ve done something stupid I can suggest a quick solution.