One of the most controversial and mythical questions which has been around forever now, is “does sex/masturbation effect sports performance?”, or a similar question “does sex/masturbation leads to physical weakness?” or questions in the likes of these.
Such traditions are more common in power & strength sports like weightlifting, boxing, football etc. The reason I found behind this hypothesis is that, testosterone increases aggression, and ejaculation reduces testosterone levels in the body.
No one knows the origin of these myths, but abstaining from sex or masturbation not just before competition, but for months, is quite common. But when it comes to research and studying these beliefs scientifically, the evidence says something else.
In the ancient times, abstinence was considered the best method to ensure athletic performance and communion between body and spirit. Roman and Greek educators believed that great sacrifices could sustain success. This is one of the reason, even now many sports coaches support the importance of sexual abstinence before competition, believing that sexual frustration leads to increased aggression. They believe that ejaculation draws testosterone away from the body, reducing aggression and muscle strength. Most coaches believe that sexual activity a night before the competition can have a negative influence on performance because of energy expenditure.
Some athletes (e.g. Mohammed Ali and Brian Bosworth) believe that sexual activity before an athletic event impaired their performance. Mohammed Ali believed abstention was helpful in that “when you don’t get sex for a while, you get mean and angry and it makes you a warrior”. In fact, Ali reportedly wouldn’t have sex for six weeks before a competition.
Coaches’ belief in a relationship between sex and performance is suggested by their keeping athletes from engaging in sexual activity the night before a competition.
Marty Liquori, once the world’s number one-ranked 5,000m runner, back in the 1960s, believed that “Sex makes you happy, and happy people don’t run a 3:47 mile”.
But not all coaches shared these thoughts. As legendary New York Yankees manager Casey Stengel puts it, “It’s not the sex that wrecks these guys, its staying up all night looking for it.”
WHAT THE EVIDENCE STATES
A 1992 study, measured testosterone levels in male and female members of four heterosexual couples on a total of 11 evenings before and after sexual intercourse and 11 evening on which there was no intercourse. Testosterone increased across the evening when there was intercourse and decreased when there was none. The pattern was the same for males and females.
A 2001 study, evaluated changes in testosterone levels in men with erectile dysfunction after they received nonhormonal treatment. At baseline, these participants had lower testosterone levels than those in the control group. However, the researchers found that testosterone levels increased in the men who resumed regular sexual activity after their treatment. Conversely, testosterone levels did not change in the men for whom treatment was ineffective.
A 2001 study, examined the 3-week period of sexual abstinence on the neuroendocrine response to masturbation-induced orgasm, in ten healthy adult men during sexual arousal and masturbation-induced orgasm. It was seen that although testosterone was unaltered by orgasm, higher testosterone concentrations were observed following the period of abstinence.
The study concluded that acute abstinence does not change the neuroendocrine response to orgasm but does produce elevated levels of testosterone in males.
There are different views on the period of abstinence which the athletes think, they may need to improve their testosterone levels and thus performance. Though, none of these theories are proven by science.
A 1997 study, assessed whether college level athletes believed that abstinence from sex before their game helps performance. 83 American football students and 73 baseball students from three different universities were assessed.
They found that that football players abstained more than baseball players, but that’s not the issue. What was to understand was that these students believed that abstinence from sex would lead to increased strength and energy. Players who believed this, also believed in other rituals like eating the same food, praying, and even wearing the same clothes before a game.
In a 2003 study, serum testosterone concentration of 28 volunteers was investigated daily during abstinence periods after ejaculation. The authors found that the fluctuations of testosterone levels from the 2nd to 5th day of abstinence were minimal. On the 7th day of abstinence, a clear peak of serum testosterone appeared, reaching 145.7% of the baseline. No regular fluctuation was observed following continuous abstinence after the peak.
As a conclusion, the study showed that ejaculation caused variations were characterised by a peak on the 7th day of abstinence, and thereafter there was no further change in the serum testosterone levels. An exactly similar result was found in an earlier 2002 study also.
Acc. to a 1995 study, athletes in the US were told to abstain from sexual intercourse prior to athletic competition, due to the belief that sexual intercourse decreases the athlete’s ability to perform efficiently/maximally.
The study was done to determine the effects of sexual intercourse 12 hours prior to maximal treadmill exercise on aerobic power, oxygen pulse, and cardiac effect. Eleven male subjects were tested on the treadmill with and without prior sexual intercourse.
The results from the maximal exercise tests showed that aerobic power, oxygen pulse, and cardiac effects were not different. Therefore, it is justified to dismiss the point of view that sexual intercourse decreases maximal exercise performance.
A 2000 study, investigated the effect of sexual activity on cycling test on plasma testosterone levels and concentration levels in high level male athletes. 15 total athletes, comprising of 8 team players, 5 endurance athletes and 2 weight lifters, were tested on two days (one day without and one day with sexual intercourse). They underwent one-hour maximal exercise test on a cycle ergometer and an arithmetic mental concentration test. Blood samples were taken to measure the testosterone levels.
The study clearly showed that sexual activity had no detrimental influence on the maximal workload achieved and on the athletes’ mental concentration. A difference which was seen was that the athletes had a higher heart rate on the mornings of sexual intercourse, after the cycle ergometer testing, which suggests that the recovery capacity of an athlete may be affected if he had sexual intercourse app. 2 hours before a competition event.
The long standing myth that athletes should practice abstinence before important competitions may stem from the theory that sexual frustration leads to increased aggression, and that act of ejaculation draws testosterone from the body. The researchers reviewed a number of studies and concluded that sexual activity the night before competition would not affect performance.
This was more in relation to the physiological effect. Now considering the psychological effect, the researchers discussed that, there is an optimal level of alertness/anxiety before a competition, and a poor performance will result from either being too anxious or not alert enough.
If athletes are too anxious and restless the night before an event, then sex may be a relaxing distraction. If they are already relaxed or, like some athletes, have little interest in sex the night before a big competition, then a good night’s sleep is all they need. This means that the results will be dependent on individual preferences and routines.
In a 2016 systematic-review study, researchers selected 9 studies after screening over 512 references and found that, in some sports and several cultures, coaches continue to support sexual abstinence before sports competition. On the other hand, in major competitions such as the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, contraceptive devices are freely available, acknowledging that sexual activity is normally practiced by the athletes during the games.
The researchers found that except for one study which promotes abstinence from sexual activity that too on the basis of a possible influence of frustration in maintaining high level of sports performance, most studies support the absence of negative effects of sexual activity on sports performance. Then there are also studies which underline the importance to maintain sexual experiences within an athlete’s normal sex life. Any possible association of sexual activity with incorrect lifestyle habits, such as abuse of alcohol or smoking, can produce adverse effects and worse performance.
A 2001 study, examined the relationship between marathon runners’ performance and sexual activity in the 48 hours prior to a marathon race. Results showed that marathon runners sexual activity was not related to their relative running performance.
A 2011 study, determined whether sexual activity the night before competition impairs athletic performance. 8 participants underwent a series of exercise tests under 3 conditions; the night prior to each testing, they were either: 1) abstinent and physically inactive, 2) sexually active or 3) did yoga.
Researchers examined their aerobic capacity, grip strength, leg power, reaction time, hamstring flexibility, muscular endurance, testosterone, cortisol, blood glucose concentrations and blood pressure.
No significant difference was found between performance results between the three conditions. Blood Glucose and testosterone concentrations were unaffected by the conditions and cortisol levels were significantly increased on the mornings following sex and yoga.
A 2017 systematic review study, found that, sexual activity 10–12 hours before competition did not alter short-term physiological testing results including maximum-effort grip strength test, hamstring flexibility, reaction time, aerobic power (stair-climbing exercise), VO2max (treadmill and cycle ergometer test), sub-maximal graded-exercise test, muscular endurance, oxygen pulse, double product, testosterone, cortisol, blood glucose concentrations, and mental concentration.
A 2019 study, assessed whether sexual activity the evening before several physical exercise performance tests affects performance the next day. For the study, eight participants underwent several physical exercise performance tests on 3 different mornings, under 3 conditions: (i) no sexual intercourse the night before the tests (control), (ii) sexual intercourse the night before the tests, and (iii) yoga the night before the tests. Physical work capacity, lower body muscular power (standing vertical jump), upper body strength (handgrip strength), reaction time, and upper body musculoskeletal endurance (number of push- ups completed), were assessed.
Researchers found that, all participants experienced orgasm through intercourse. The more pleasurable the orgasm, the lower the systolic blood pressure (SBP) on the day after intercourse. There were no significant differences in the physical working capacity that elicited an HR of 170 beats/minute, number of push-ups completed, vertical jump height, grip strength, or reaction time across the 3 conditions.
Thus, the study showed no significant changes in various measures of physical exercise performance following sexual intercourse at 7.6 hours before physical exercise. However, it was found that the more intense and pleasurable the orgasm from sexual intercourse the night before exercise, the lower the SBP.
Another 2019 study, determined if sexual activity the evening before several physical performance tests affected the results compared to the same performance tests after five days of abstinence.Ten, married young men underwent a six-physical performance/balance/agility tests (forearm grip strength, balance, lateral movement, reaction time, anaerobic power, and maximal oxygen uptake) on three different days.
The first day was a familiarization session, where the subjects familiarized themselves with the performance tests. Then, two morning sessions occurred there was either no sexual intercourse on the five days prior to the tests (control condition) or sexual intercourse on the night before the tests (experimental condition).
The results showed that sexual activity had no effect on any of the six physical performance tests. This suggests that physical performance is unaffected by sexual activity within 24 hours prior to competition in young men.
A 2022 meta-analysis of 9 studies, total 133 subjects, concluded that, sexual activity within 30 min to 24h before exercise does not appear to affect aerobic fitness, musculoskeletal endurance, or strength/power.
