A new research has found that eating good food and having sex along with providing contentment also alleviate anxiety level by obstructing the anxiety responses in the brain.

The study was conducted by a crew of researchers from the University of Cincinnati. Its findings are based on the sugar syrup trials on rats that evaluated how by indulging into enjoyable activities one gets relieved of stressing tendency.

The rats were given a sugar solution twice a day for two weeks. Afterwards, they were evaluated for their behavioral and physiological changes associated with stress.

It was discovered that heart rates and stress hormone levels in rats, which were given sugar syrup decreased, as compared to the rodents in the control group, who were not given the sweetened water. The sugar solution group rats were also more friendly, social and adventurous in comparison to control group rats.

In other trial, the rats were given saccharine sweetened water instead of sugar and the results were similar. In a third experiment, the rats were enabled to indulge into sexual activities with partners, which also proved effective in decreasing stress level.

"The use of animal models in psychiatry research is very, very tricky. But it sounds reasonable because both rats and humans have similar brain structure and similar stress hormones", said Dr. Danial Carlat, AOL's mental health expert.

The findings of the study appeared in PNAS, the journal of the National Academy of Sciences.