Men who suffer from problems in the bedroom may be tempted to turn to medication or mindfulness to improve their sex life.
But simply going to the gym can help you last longer, guys.
That’s according to a new study, which found that just seven minutes of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) per day helped reduce symptoms of premature ejaculation in less than two weeks.
The condition is one of the most common sexual dysfunctions among men and is characterized by the inability to delay ejaculation during sexual intercourse, often occurring after minimal sexual stimulation.
This problem can prevent their female partners from reaching orgasm, leading to frustration and dissatisfaction in the bedroom, as well as increased anxiety and depression.
A new study found that just seven minutes of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) per day helped reduce symptoms of premature ejaculation in less than two weeks.
Researchers at East China Normal University found that it could help men after just 12 days of exercise.
Treatment may include the use of thick condoms or therapy sessions. Some people turn to medications such as Viagra or antidepressants, but these can have side effects.
To find out if something else might help, researchers at East China Normal University recruited 76 men between the ages of 18 and 34 for a study.
Each participant was required to have a stable female partner with whom they had sexual relations at least once a week.
Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups. The first group did HIIT for seven minutes each day for two weeks, which consisted of alternating between short bursts of intense exercise and rest periods.
The second group performed slow breathing exercises for the same duration, while the third, “control” group performed normal breathing exercises.
All participants completed several questionnaires throughout the study.
The analysis revealed that symptoms of premature ejaculation decreased in the HIIT group and the normal breathing group, but not in the slow breathing group.
However, from day 12 onwards, symptoms were less in the HIIT group compared to the normal breathing group.
In a paper published in the International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, the team said: “Compared to the control group, the efficacy of two weeks of HIIT exercise in mitigating premature ejaculation symptoms suggests its potential as a novel treatment.”
Further analysis revealed that attention regulation scores improved in all three groups.
This suggests that whatever the intervention, simply focusing on exercises or breathing could improve men’s ability to regulate their attention, a skill that also appeared to be linked to better control over ejaculation.
The researchers cautioned that it is unclear whether these benefits are maintained over a longer period and that their study sample was limited to younger men.