SPORTSMEN who need to be more aggressive may perform better if they have sex
before they play, say researchers. This turns on its head the widely held belief
in sporting circles that players should abstain from sex before an important
game.
The key is a player鈥檚 level of testosterone, the hormone related to both sex
and aggression. Testosterone levels are known to be higher in men who are
sexually active. Researchers have often assumed that a low sex drive is a
consequence of low levels of testosterone, but studies by Emmanuele Jannini of
the University of L鈥橝quila in Italy show that testosterone levels rise after an
increase in sexual activity.
Jannini measured testosterone in the blood of more than 80 patients with
long-term impotence. He found that while the impotent men鈥檚 testosterone levels
were about two-thirds those of sexually active men their age, they were not low
enough to cause impotence.
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After three months of psychological, mechanical or medical therapy, which did
not include hormone treatment, Jannini and his colleagues found a dramatic rise
in testosterone levels in the men who were treated successfully. Those who made
a partial recovery had a smaller rise in testosterone. But men whose treatment
wasn鈥檛 successful continued to produce low amounts of testosterone.
Because the testosterone level rose with the amount of sexual activity, and
was not related to the source of the impotence or the type of treatment, Jannini
believes he can sort cause from effect. 鈥淚t didn鈥檛 matter which type of therapy
we used, as long as the therapy worked,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the restoration of
sexual activity that raises testosterone to normal levels.鈥�
Jannini thinks that in men the body adjusts testosterone levels to match
sexual drive to the level of sexual activity, and the same may be true for
women. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an adaptive mechanism,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f a man has sexual intercourse,
testosterone causes him to desire the next sexual intercourse.鈥�
The lesson that sportsmen can draw from the research is that the decision
whether to abstain from sex before a game depends partly on whether the sport
requires aggression and partly on the player鈥檚 character. 鈥淲e discuss this each
Sunday before the games,鈥� says Jannini. 鈥淪ome athletes think it鈥檚 important not
to have it. It鈥檚 a matter of the character of the athlete. If he needs to be
more aggressive it鈥檚 better to have sex,鈥� he says.
David Handelsman, a doctor who studies reproductive medicine at the
University of Sydney, says the research is thought-provoking and sheds new light
on what testosterone does. 鈥淭his is the first clear evidence in the vexed
relationship between male sexuality and testosterone,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here鈥檝e only
been three good, large-scale, placebo-controlled treatment studies.鈥� He says
none of these studies provided data about testosterone levels before and after
treatment.