Sexual Activity or Exercise: Which Stresses the Heart More?

The stress on the heart from making love is relatively insignificant, compared to that caused by exercising, according to a study from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in New Brunswick. Nineteen men and thirteen women performed a maximal-effort stress test (exercising vigorously on a treadmill) followed by home-monitored sexual activity using heart rate and blood pressure recording devices. During sexual activity the men had maximum heart rates 28 percent lower than during exercise, and systolic blood pressure 20 percent lower. In the women the heart rate was 36 percent lower and blood pressure 25 percent lower. Journal reference

The duration of treadmill exercise slowed by nine seconds for each additional year of age, and duration of sexual activity slowed by one minute for each year of age. How long they could make love correlated with how long they could run on a treadmill. For each additional minute on the treadmill, the person could make love for an additional 2.3 minutes. More