男士注意：劇烈運(yùn)動(dòng)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(xiàng)初步研究表明，與運(yùn)動(dòng)強(qiáng)度較輕的男士相比，劇烈運(yùn)動(dòng)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(lái)，科學(xué)家和積極鍛煉的人士一直在爭(zhēng)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(guò)，過(guò)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(yùn)動(dòng)員——比如馬拉松運(yùn)動(dòng)員——一周高強(qiáng)度訓(xùn)練很多小時(shí)，可能出現(xiàn)月經(jīng)不調(diào)。這些問(wèn)題似乎是身體壓力引起的荷爾蒙失調(diào)所導(dǎo)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(huì)在運(yùn)動(dòng)員減輕訓(xùn)練負(fù)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(qiáng)度鍛煉，對(duì)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(dòng)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(zhǎng)艱苦的訓(xùn)練可能會(huì)立即且長(zhǎng)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(yùn)動(dòng)相關(guān)的激素變化——這很容易測(cè)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(yùn)動(dòng)與鍛煉中的醫(yī)學(xué)與科學(xué)》(Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise)雜志上的這項(xiàng)新研究中，北卡羅來(lái)納大學(xué)教堂山分校(University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill)的研究者們決定，就性生活問(wèn)題詢問(wèn)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(xué)研究設(shè)計(jì)了一個(gè)問(wèn)卷，詢問(wèn)他們想到和進(jìn)行性行為的頻率?？茖W(xué)家們還創(chuàng)建了另一個(gè)單獨(dú)的問(wèn)卷，詳細(xì)詢問(wèn)運(yùn)動(dòng)習(xí)慣，包括這些男士每周鍛煉的頻率和強(qiáng)度。

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

最后一組問(wèn)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(xiàng)領(lǐng)域的訓(xùn)練小組、大學(xué)體育部門以及針對(duì)耐力運(yùn)動(dòng)員的刊物，請(qǐng)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(wèn)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(wèn)題。他們大多是經(jīng)驗(yàn)豐富的運(yùn)動(dòng)員，多年參加訓(xùn)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(xué)家們根據(jù)鍛煉的時(shí)長(zhǎng)和強(qiáng)度對(duì)這些男士進(jìn)行分組。根據(jù)時(shí)長(zhǎng)分成了每周運(yùn)動(dòng)時(shí)間較短、適度或很長(zhǎng)三組;根據(jù)強(qiáng)度分為每周運(yùn)動(dòng)強(qiáng)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(dāng)然，有可能某個(gè)人同時(shí)位于這兩個(gè)類別的頂部或底部，也就是說(shuō)，他們的鍛煉時(shí)間又長(zhǎng)又劇烈，或者時(shí)間又短又輕微。不過(guò)，科學(xué)家們想分別研究鍛煉的各個(gè)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(duì)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(yùn)動(dòng)習(xí)慣與他們報(bào)告的性興趣和性行為進(jìn)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(duì)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(duì)性愛的興趣較低，雖然不是低很多)，與鍛煉時(shí)間特別長(zhǎng)或強(qiáng)度特別大的男性相比，運(yùn)動(dòng)時(shí)間適中或強(qiáng)度較小的男性報(bào)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(dǎo)這項(xiàng)研究的北卡羅來(lái)納大學(xué)運(yùn)動(dòng)生理學(xué)和營(yíng)養(yǎng)學(xué)教授安東尼·哈克尼(Anthony Hackney)表示，劇烈運(yùn)動(dòng)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(dāng)然，它是人數(shù)較少的一些男士自愿完成的一項(xiàng)涉及個(gè)人隱私的調(diào)查。無(wú)法確定他們的回答是否誠(chéng)實(shí)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(guò)多運(yùn)動(dòng)是否的確會(huì)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(yùn)動(dòng)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(guò)，哈克尼博士推測(cè)，劇烈運(yùn)動(dòng)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(jìn)行直接跟蹤運(yùn)動(dòng)、激素水平和睪丸素水平的實(shí)驗(yàn)，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(qiáng)度和時(shí)長(zhǎng)哪個(gè)對(duì)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(gè)節(jié)點(diǎn)起運(yùn)動(dòng)開始降低某些男士的性欲。他指出，在這項(xiàng)研究中，中度和輕度運(yùn)動(dòng)都與較高的性欲相關(guān)。“但似乎存在一個(gè)潛在的臨界點(diǎn)”，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(dān)心自己的訓(xùn)練影響性生活，可以嘗試少運(yùn)動(dòng)一點(diǎn)，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(shuō)，這個(gè)建議對(duì)打算要孩子的夫婦尤為重要。“生育專家經(jīng)常詢問(wèn)女性是否鍛煉以及鍛煉量的大小，”他說(shuō)，“根據(jù)我們的數(shù)據(jù)，我們認(rèn)為他們也應(yīng)該詢問(wèn)男方這些問(wèn)題。”