男士注意：劇烈運動可能不利于你的性生活

Men who exercise strenuously may have a lower libido than those whose workouts are lighter, according to one of the first studies to scientifically delve into the relationship between men’s workouts and their sex lives.

研究男性鍛煉與性生活關(guān)系的一項初步研究表明，與運動強度較輕的男士相比，劇烈運動的男士性欲偏低。

For years, scientists and active people have debated whether and how exercise affects sexual desire and human reproduction.

多年來，科學家和積極鍛煉的人士一直在爭論鍛煉是否影響、以及如何影響性欲和人類繁殖。

But most past studies have centered on women. Typically, this research has found that when some female athletes, such as marathon runners, train intensely for many hours a week, they can develop menstrual dysfunctions. These problems seem caused by hormonal imbalances occuring because of physical stress and frequently affect a woman’s interest in sex and her ability to conceive.

不過，過去的大部分研究都集中在女性身上。那種研究通常發(fā)現(xiàn)，有些女運動員——比如馬拉松運動員——一周高強度訓練很多小時，可能出現(xiàn)月經(jīng)不調(diào)。這些問題似乎是身體壓力引起的荷爾蒙失調(diào)所導致的，經(jīng)常影響女性的性欲和懷孕能力。

But such dysfunctions are rare and usually resolve after the athlete lightens her training load.

但是，這種功能障礙不常見，而且通常會在運動員減輕訓練負荷后緩解。

Less is known about the effects of exercise, especially heavy exercise, on men’s libidos and fertility. There have been hints that, in moderate amounts, physical activity increases the male body’s production of the hormone testosterone, which theoretically should ramp up sex drive. Other small studies, on the other hand, have suggested that lengthy and grueling training may blunt the levels of testosterone in a man’s bloodstream both immediately and over the long term.

關(guān)于鍛煉，尤其是高強度鍛煉，對男性性欲和生育能力的影響，人們知道的更少。有跡象表明，適量體育活動能增加男性睪丸素的生成，它在理論上能提高性欲。但其他一些小型研究表明，漫長艱苦的訓練可能會立即且長期降低男性血液中的睪丸素水平。

But those studies examined only hormone changes related to exercise, which can be measured easily, and not differences in sexual emotions and behavior, which are tougher to quantify.

但是，那些研究只關(guān)注與運動相關(guān)的激素變化——這很容易測量——而不關(guān)注更難量化的性情緒和性行為的變化。

So for the new study, which was published this month in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, researchers at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill decided to ask active men about their sex lives.

在本月出版在《運動與鍛煉中的醫(yī)學與科學》(Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise)雜志上的這項新研究中，北卡羅來納大學教堂山分校(University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill)的研究者們決定，就性生活問題詢問經(jīng)常鍛煉的男士。

They began by developing a questionnaire based on earlier psychological research into men’s sexual behavior that asked, for instance, how often they thought about and engaged in sex. The scientists also created a separate questionnaire with detailed queries about exercise habits, including how often and intensely the men worked out each week.

他們根據(jù)以前的男性性行為心理學研究設(shè)計了一個問卷，詢問他們想到和進行性行為的頻率?？茖W家們還創(chuàng)建了另一個單獨的問卷，詳細詢問運動習慣，包括這些男士每周鍛煉的頻率和強度。

A final set of questions asked about general health and medical histories.

最后一組問題是關(guān)于總體健康狀況和病史。

Then the researchers contacted running, cycling and triathlon training groups, university athletic departments, and publications targeted at endurance athletes and asked them to alert members and readers to the questionnaires, which were available online.

然后研究人員聯(lián)系了跑步、騎自行車和鐵人三項領(lǐng)域的訓練小組、大學體育部門以及針對耐力運動員的刊物，請他們提醒成員和讀者回答這些可以在網(wǎng)上看到的調(diào)查問卷。

Almost 1,100 physically active adult men completed all of the questions. Most were experienced athletes who had participated for years in training and competitions.

近1100名經(jīng)常鍛煉的成年男子回答了所有的問題。他們大多是經(jīng)驗豐富的運動員，多年參加訓練和比賽。

The scientists used their responses to stratify the men based on both the extent and intensity of their workouts. They wound up with groups whose weekly exercise was short, moderately lengthy or quite prolonged, and separately whose weekly exercise was light, moderate or extremely intense.

科學家們根據(jù)鍛煉的時長和強度對這些男士進行分組。根據(jù)時長分成了每周運動時間較短、適度或很長三組;根據(jù)強度分為每周運動強度較輕、適度或很大三組。

It was possible, of course, for someone to be in the top or bottom of both of these categories, meaning that their workouts were both long and intense or light and short. But the scientists wanted to examine each of those aspects of a workout separately, so did not track such overlaps.

當然，有可能某個人同時位于這兩個類別的頂部或底部，也就是說，他們的鍛煉時間又長又劇烈，或者時間又短又輕微。不過，科學家們想分別研究鍛煉的各個方面，所以沒有就這些重疊部分展開追查。

They also categorized the men according to their answers about their sex lives, creating groups with relatively high, moderate or low libidos.

研究人員還根據(jù)這些男士對性生活的回答將他們分為性欲較高、中等或較低三組。

Finally, they compared the men’s exercise habits to their reported interest and engagement in sex.

最后，他們將這些男士的運動習慣與他們報告的性興趣和性行為進行比較。

And there were clear patterns. The men whose exercise routines were moderate or light in intensity or duration were far more likely to report moderate or high libidos than were the men whose workouts were especially prolonged or intense, even after the researchers controlled for age. (Older men tend to report less interest in sex, although not by much.)

對比結(jié)果存在清晰的規(guī)律。即使在研究人員控制年齡之后(老年人往往表示對性愛的興趣較低，雖然不是低很多)，與鍛煉時間特別長或強度特別大的男性相比，運動時間適中或強度較小的男性報告中度或高度性欲的可能性要高得多。

In effect, strenuous exercise “was associated with lower libido,” says Anthony Hackney, a professor of exercise physiology and nutrition at the University of North Carolina who led the study.

領(lǐng)導這項研究的北卡羅來納大學運動生理學和營養(yǎng)學教授安東尼·哈克尼(Anthony Hackney)表示，劇烈運動基本上“與較低的性欲相關(guān)”。

Of course, this was a small sample of men who voluntarily chose to complete a personally intrusive survey. It is impossible to know whether they were truthful or representative of the rest of their gender.

當然，它是人數(shù)較少的一些男士自愿完成的一項涉及個人隱私的調(diào)查。無法確定他們的回答是否誠實以及能否代表其他男性。

This type of study also cannot tell us whether too much exercise actually causes low libido, only that the two are linked.

這種研究也不能告訴我們，過多運動是否的確會降低性欲，只是表明兩者相關(guān)聯(lián)。

And it did not examine why strenuous exercise might dampen libidos.

它沒有研究為什么劇烈運動可能抑制性欲。

But Dr. Hackney speculates that both physical fatigue and lower testosterone levels after exhausting exercise likely play a role.

不過，哈克尼博士推測，劇烈運動后的身體疲勞和較低的睪丸素水平很可能起了作用。

He and his colleagues hope to soon mount experiments that directly track exercise, hormone levels and libidos to learn more about their interactions. They also aim to learn more about whether the intensity of the workouts or duration has the greater impact on male sex drive.

他和同事們希望盡快進行直接跟蹤運動、激素水平和睪丸素水平的實驗，以便更多地了解它們的相互作用。他們還想更多地了解，鍛煉的強度和時長哪個對男性性欲的影響更大。

Perhaps most important, he hopes eventually to pin down at what point exercise might start to lower some men’s libidos. Both moderate and light physical activity were associated in this study with relatively high libidos, he points out. “But there does seem be a potential tipping point,” after which more exercise may blunt desire.

也許最重要的是，他希望最終能確定從哪個節(jié)點起運動開始降低某些男士的性欲。他指出，在這項研究中，中度和輕度運動都與較高的性欲相關(guān)。“但似乎存在一個潛在的臨界點”，在那之后，更多的鍛煉可能降低欲望。

The necessary studies likely will require years and many cooperative men to complete.

這些必要的研究可能需要很多年和很多男士的合作才能完成。

In the meantime, he suggests that if someone is worried about whether his training is affecting his sex life, he might try exercising a little less, to see if his libido changes.

哈克尼建議，在此期間，如果有人擔心自己的訓練影響性生活，可以嘗試少運動一點，看看性欲是否發(fā)生了變化。

This advice could be especially important for couples trying to conceive, he says. “Fertility specialists will often ask a woman about whether and how much she exercises,” he says. “Based on our data, we think they should also be asking the man.”

他說，這個建議對打算要孩子的夫婦尤為重要。“生育專家經(jīng)常詢問女性是否鍛煉以及鍛煉量的大小，”他說，“根據(jù)我們的數(shù)據(jù)，我們認為他們也應該詢問男方這些問題。”