Scientists find clear link between when you lost your virginity and your brain development

It's one of the biggest deals in the world until it actually happens, but it turns out the age in which we lose our virginity might have more of an impact than we first thought.

There's an immense social pressure on people to have sex as soon as we reach out later teenage years, but the reality is that people may not be physically or mentally ready for it.

While there's one kid in the US who got a girl pregnant before he even hit 13, that's certainly not recommended, and those folks who appeared on the recent series of Virgin Island may well be better off.

That's according to a recent study which found that those people who hit their stride in the sex scene from an early age score worse when it comes to ageing-related measures, including longevity indicators, frailty scores, and self-rated health.

“Our findings suggest that the timing of first sexual intercourse may be connected to ageing through multiple psychological, behavioural, and disease-related pathways,” said first author Kaixian Wang.

The studies found that there were more health problems associated with those who had an earlier genetic predisposition towards sex (Getty Stock)

The researchers used a method known as Mendelian randomisation, which uses genetic data to see whether people with gene variants associated with earlier sexual activity showed any differences in how they aged.

And almost across the board, it was found that people with a genetic predisposition towards sex earlier in their life, tended to age worse afterwards. So anyone who is a late bloomer might be able to celebrate for the first time in a while, even if they're still getting ID'ed when they are 25. And maybe this is why The 40-Year-Old Virgin star Steve Carell is ageing like a fine wine (even though he has kids in real life).

“Our findings do not mean a single behaviour determines a person’s future health,” Wang added. “Instead, they highlight how early-life experiences may cluster with mental health challenges, chronic disease risks, and functional decline over time.”

Maybe these guys are on to something (Channel 4)

However, it seems as if the sex itself is almost immaterial, as there's also some worrying physical and health problems that are also contributing factors in how the body ages.

The four main factors found here were physical frailty, low mood, COPD (the lung disease most commonly tied to smoking), and ADHD, something an increasing number of young people in particular are suffering from.

Interestingly, this is also contrasted with the amount of sex that young people are now having, with the growth in phone and porn addiction unsurprisingly doing huge amount of damage in people's ability to talk naturally with people they might be interested in.

Gen Z are seemingly delaying or abandoning the idea of sex, which might well be frowned upon by older generations, but it also might just give their health a boost as they age.