Surely you have ever heard that having sex before a physical competition can negatively influence the results of it. This is a widespread belief that was already recommended from ancient Greece and Rome, thus having a long historical journey.
Does practicing sex before a physical competition really hurt the athlete?
The latest review of studies in this regard tells us no, provided that the sexual relations take place the previous day, although there are still many points to be studied in this regard.
The review of studies, carried out by experts from Italian and British universities in 2016, concluded that there is not enough evidence to be able to affirm that having sexual intercourse the night before a physical competition could have a negative impact on the performance of the athlete on the physical plane.
Of the studies reviewed, only one of them concluded that sexual abstinence was a factor to be taken into account to avoid potential problems of frustration in the performance of athletes. All the others concluded the lack of evidence that this happened.
Even some of them concluded that sexual relations prior to a competition could be psychological positive for competitors or, at least, would not have any effect on them. All this provided that sexual relationships are not accompanied by bad habits such as alcohol or tobacco.
It does emphasize the conclusions of the review in that in the occasions in which it has been concluded that sexual relations have been beneficial for the performance of the athlete in the competition, these have been maintained at least ten hours before the same. This other study, however, found that after having sexual intercourse two hours before a test, the performance of the athletes and their recovery did experience a decrease.
It also calls for more in-depth research on this subject in general and in the case of women and masturbation in particular, as they are considered little studied by science.