Does abstinence improve sporting performance?

I know lots of my readers take part in sporting competitions and they always want to perform at their peak and win.  So is it best to abstain the night before a competition?  Certainly here is a myth that abstinence before sporting activities improves performance? But does it?

Researchers at the University of Florence reviewed hundreds of studies to determine if there was any truth in the myth that abstinence helps performance.  They found no evidence to support the myth that abstinence before a sporting competition improves performance.  In addition they found no evidence that having sex the night before impairs performance the next day.  They came across one study that found marathon runners did better the next day after having sex the night before.

All sporting competitions are as much about the mind as the physical activity.  So the impact of sex the night before on marathon runners may be psychological.  Maybe that is why the organisers of the Rio Olympics distributed more than 450,000 condoms in the athletes’ village during the 2016 Olympics.

Reference

Stefani Laura, Galanti Giorgio, Padulo Johnny, Bragazzi Nicola L., Maffulli Nicola, 2016, Sexual Activity before Sports Competition: A Systematic Review,  Frontiers in Physiology, Vol 7, pg 246

http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fphys.2016.00246

Related Posts

  • How to live to 100

    Here are some top tips on how to live to 100.  These tips are from Dr Claudia Kawas at the University of California, on of the world's leading scientific researchers into longevity and scientists at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and the scientists working on the Blue Zone project. Scientists studying lonevity are tyring to answer the question why doesn one person live until they are 94 while another dies at 75.  Dr Claudia Kawas has spent 15 years studying "super-agers" - those who live until into their nineties and beyond while keeping their minds sharp.  By studying the lifestyles of these "super-agers" scientists have discovered some common lifestyle habits and traits including:

    1. Drinking two cups of coffee a day
    2. Don't over eat
    3. Get out and socialise including talking to strangers
    4. Drink two glases of wine a day
    5. 15 mins of light exercise a day
    6. Positive thinking or optimistic outlook in life
    7. Resilience when bad things happen
    8. Having a purpose/ belief in life
    9. Put others including family first
    10. Be with the "right" people for you
    11. Healthy eating i.e. more plant based diets
    References Nature, 2017; 546 (7660); E8; doi: 10.1038/nature22786

  • Is reflexology or massage better at reducing stress or pain?

    While amongst my clients there is a clear preference for massage, I decided to investigate if there was any scientific evidence if massage was better than reflexology (or vice versa) at reducing pain and stress. In 2012 there was a small study comparing massage to reflexology on cancer survivors over the age of 75 living in a care home.  The study compared the effectiveness of 20 minutes of reflexology treatments against 20 minute Swedish massage by examining the impact on the patients stress levels, pain levels and mood.  Pre and post treatment levels of salivary cortisol, observed affect and pain were compared. Both reflexology and Swedish massage resulted in significant declines in salivary cortisol indicating a reduction in stress levels, reduced pain levels and improvements in mood.        So to go back to my original question, there is scientific evidence for both and I suggest you book the treatment you prefer. Hodgson N, Lafferty D (2012) Reflexology versus Swedish Massage to Reduce Physiologic Stress and Pain and Improve Mood in Nursing Home Residents with Cancer: A Pilot Trial. Evidence Based Complement Alternat Med. 2:456897               

  • Can daily dark chocolate boost athletic performance?

    I will begin with a confession, I love dark chocolate.  So I am an avid reader of any scientific research on dark chocolate, as its always good to be able to justify eating chocolate for its health benefits! Recently a research team studied nine amateur cyclists to establish whether epicatechin, a type of flavanol found in the cocoa bean, would increase nitric oxcide production in the body.  Nitric oxide expands blood vessels, allowing more oxygen to get to vital organs, which boosts endurance and sports performance.  The cyclists were divided into tow grounds, with the first instructed to replace a normal daily snack with 40g of dark chocolate for two weeks, while the other group did the same for white chocolate. The two groups were assessed in cycling exercise tests in the laboratory to measure heart rates, oxygen consumption levels during moderate exercise.  The groups switched chocolate types after a one-week interval and repeated the tests.  The cyclists eating dark chocolate were found to use less oxygen and covered more distance in time trails compared to the cyclists eating white chocolate. So maybe dark chocolate shoulder become a staple part of endurance althlete's diets. Reference R K Patel, J Brounder, O Spendiff, 2015, Dark chocolate supplementation reduces the oxygen cost of moderate intensity cycling, Journal of International Society of Sports Nurition, 12:47.