Ask the Doc: Does exercise increase sex drive?

Your sex drive can be a good indicator of your general wellbeing. If you’re stressed or feeling unwell, you might not feel as enthusiastic about sex as you do normally. Exercise can relieve stress, and improve your mood and your health, which can help to increase your sex drive (libido).

But if you spend all your energy on exercising, you might not have any left for the bedroom. Men who train intensively, like marathon runners, for example, have lower sex drives than men who don’t train quite so hard. It might not just be tiredness that reduces their sex drive, because testosterone levels also decline in men who exercise excessively, and low testosterone is known to reduce libido.

Exercising regularly is one of the best things you can do to look after your health and wellbeing, and your sex life.