A recent German study says physical exertion increases men’s responses to sexual stimuli.
The research explored how exercise impacts the sympathetic nervous system. That’s the part of the nervous system that prompts your “fight-or-flight” response. Stress, fear and exercise trigger this system. However, few studies have concentrated on whether it also impacts sexual arousal.
The German study recruited 43 male students, mainly in their 20s.
The researchers split these men into two groups: the “stressor” group and the “control” group.
Those in the stressor half took part in a physically stressful activity for three minutes. In this instance, squeezing hard on hand grips.
After the exercise, collections of images were shown to both groups. Each photo flashed up on a screen for five seconds. The photos consisted of the following: violent/threatening images; sporting activities; sexual erotica featuring male-female couples, or more benign images of nature or everyday social interactions.
The participants were all hooked up to ECG monitors and other equipment. This allowed for the tracking of physiological changes including blood pressure, pupil dilation and skin conductance. Pupil dilation and your skin’s electrical conduction demonstrate fluctuations when fight-or-flight mode activates.
The sexual images shown to each participant were heterosexual in nature. Because of this, one gay participant and two bisexual participants were excluded from the final results. The researchers had concerns these men may not have reacted in the same way to the heterosexual erotica as the others in the study.
