Having sex without using condom is good for mental health, says a new study.

Stuart Brody, of the West of Scotland University, Paisley, and his colleagues found that unprotected heterosexual sex can significantly boost men and women’s mental wellbeing. On the other hand, heterosexual sex with a condom is linked to poorer mental health, the study showed.

According to Brody, mankind is biologically wired to enjoy unprotected sex as it gives couples an evolutionary advantage and raises the chances of reproducing.

“Evolution is not politically correct, so of the broad range of potential sexual behavior, there is actually only one consistently linked with better physical and mental health and that is the one behaviour that would be favoured by evolution,” he said.

The researchers studied the sexual behaviour of 99 women and 111 men in Portugal.

Brody concluded that condom use was linked to members of the sample who exhibited problems dealing with stress. He found that those who had unprotected sex were able to deal with stress in a more mature way. They also had better mental health. However, sexual health campaigners have attacked the findings, warning that unsafe sex leads to unwanted pregnancies and diseases.