Sexual frequency and heart rate variability in a Portuguese non-clinical sample: Preliminary results

Sabrina Gomes, Rui Miguel Costa, Paula Mangia, José Pestana, Mafalda Pinto Coelho, Catarina Correia

Abstract


Greater vaginal intercourse frequency has been related to greater resting heart rate variability (HRV) as indicated by the standard deviation of the heart rate, which can express a combination of greater sympathetic and parasympathetic activity. The present study examined associations of several HRV parameters with sexual satisfaction and several sexual behaviours. Sixty men and 85 women reported their past month frequency of vaginal intercourse, noncoital sex, and masturbation, and completed the sexual satisfaction subscale of the LiSat (Life Satisfaction) scale. The HRV parameters were calculated from a five-minute recording period and include standard deviation of the heart rate, standard deviation of the NN intervals, low frequency power, high frequency power, and low to high frequency ratio. Vaginal intercourse frequency correlated with greater sexual satisfaction in both sexes, and with greater standard deviation of the heart rate in women. The other HRV parameters were uncorrelated with vaginal intercourse frequency. Sexual satisfaction was uncorrelated with all HRV parameters. Vaginal intercourse frequency might be facilitated by greater parasympathetic tone concomitant with a moderately greater tonic sympathetic activity.

Keywords


Heart rate variability, Sexual frequency, Intercourse, Sexual satisfaction, Autonomic nervous system.

References


Appelhans, B. M., & Luecken, L. J. (2006). Heart rate variability as an index of regulated emotional responding. Review of general psychology, 10, 229-240.

Azam, M. A., Katz, J., Fashler, S. R., Changoor, T., Azargive, S., & Ritvo, P. (2015). Heart rate variability is enhanced in controls but not maladaptive perfectionists during brief mindfulness meditation following stress-induction: A stratified randomized trial. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 98, 27-34.

Barlow, D. H., Sakheim, D. K., & Beck, J. G. (1983). Anxiety increases sexual arousal. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 92, 49.

Beauchaine, T. (2001). Vagal tone, development, and Gray’s motivational theory: Towards an integrated model of autonomic nervous system functioning in psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 13, 183-214.

Beutel, M. E., Burghardt, J., Tibubos, A. N., Klein, E. A., Schmutzer, G., & Brähler, E. (2018). Declining sexual activity and desire in men – Findings from representative German surveys, 2005 and 2016. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 15, 750-756.

Brody, S. (2010). The relative health benefits of different sexual activities. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 7, 1336-1361.

Brody, S., & Costa, R. M. (2009). Satisfaction (sexual, life, relationship, and mental health) is associated directly with penile-vaginal intercourse, but inversely with other sexual behavior frequencies. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 6, 1947-1954.

Brody, S., & Preut, R. (2003). Vaginal intercourse frequency and heart rate variability. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 29, 371-380.

Brody, S., Veit, R., & Rau, H. (2000). A preliminary report relating frequency of vaginal intercourse to heart rate variability, Valsalva ratio, blood pressure, and cohabitation status. Biological Psychology, 52, 251-257.

Chen, C. J., Kuo, T. B., Tseng, Y. J., & Yang, C. C. (2009). Combined cardiac sympathetic excitation and vagal impairment in patients with non-organic erectile dysfunction. Clinical Neurophysiology, 120, 348-352.

Costa, R. M., & Brody, S. (2012a). Greater resting heart rate variability is associated with orgasms through penile-vaginal intercourse, but not with orgasms from other sources. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 9, 188-197.

Costa, R. M., & Brody, S. (2012b). Sexual satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, and health are associated with greater frequency of penile-vaginal intercourse. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41, 9-10.

Costa, R. M., & Brody, S. (2013). Immature psychological defense mechanisms are associated with greater personal importance of junk food, alcohol, and television. Psychiatry Research, 209, 535-539.

Costa, R. M., & Brody, S. (2015). Female sexual function and heart rate variability. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 40, 377-378.

de Oliveira, T. P., de Alvarenga Mattos, R., da Silva, R. B., Rezende, R. A., & de Lima, J. R. (2013). Absence of parasympathetic reactivation after maximal exercise. Clinical Physiology and Functioning Imaging, 33, 143-149.

Dekker, J. M., Schouten, E. G., Klootwijk, P., Pool, J., Swenne, C. A., & Kromhout, D. (1997). Heart rate variability from short electrocardiographic recordings predicts mortality from all causes in middle-aged and elderly men. American Journal of Epidemiology, 145, 899-908.

Dogru, T., Kocak, O. M., Erberk-Ozen, N., & Basar, M. (2008). Assessment of the autonomic nervous system is an appropriate biological marker for the well-being in erectile dysfunction. Asian Journal of Andrology, 10, 643-650.

Dutton, D. G., & Aron, A. P. (1974). Some evidence of heightened sexual attraction under conditions of high anxiety. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 30, 510-517.

Ebrahim, S., May, M., Shlomo, Y. B., McCarron, P., Frankel, S., Yarnell, J., & Smith, G. D. (2002). Sexual intercourse and risk of ischaemic stroke and coronary heart disease: The Caerphilly study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 56, 99-102.

Ende, N., Gertner, S. B., Hwang, S. G., & Kadi, R. S. (1989). Measurements of postcoital sympathetic activity in females by means of vanillylmandelic acid. Hormones and Behavior, 23, 150-156.

Francis, H. M., Fisher, A., Rushby, J. A., & McDonald, S. (2016). Reduced heart rate variability in chronic severe traumatic brain injury: Association with impaired emotional and social functioning, and potential for treatment using biofeedback. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 26, 103-125.

Friedman, B. H. (2007). An autonomic flexibility-neurovisceral integration model of anxiety and cardiac vagal tone. Biological psychology, 74, 185-199.

Fugl-Meyer, A. R., Melin, R., & Fugl-Meyer, K. S. (2002). Life satisfaction in 18-to 64-year-old Swedes: In relation to gender, age, partner and immigrant status. Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 34, 239-246.

Harte, C. B. (2013). The relationship between resting heart rate variability and erectile tumescence among men with normal erectile function. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 10, 1961-1968.

Herbenick, D., Reece, M., Schick, V., Sanders, S. A., Dodge, B., & Fortenberry, J. D. (2010). Sexual behaviors, relationships and perceived health among adult women in the United States: Results from a national probability sample. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 7, 277-290.

Higgins, J. A., Mullinax, M., Trussell, J., Davidson, J. K., & Moore, N. B. (2011). Sexual satisfaction and sexual health among university students in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 101, 1643-1654.

Kemp, H., & Quintana, D. S. (2013). The relationship between mental and physical health: Insights from the study of heart rate variability. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 89, 288-296.

Lee, J. Y., Joo, K. J., Kim, J. T., Cho, S. T., Cho, D. S., Won, Y. Y., & Choi, J. B. (2011). Heart rate variability in men with erectile dysfunction. International Neurourology Journal, 15, 87-91.

Lorenz, T. K., Harte, C. B., & Meston, C. M. (2015). Changes in autonomic nervous system activity are associated with changes in sexual function in women with a history of childhood sexual abuse. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 12, 1545-1554.

Masi, C. M., Hawkley, L. C., Rickett, E. M., & Cacciopo, J. T. (2007). Respiratory sinus arrhythmia and diseases of aging: Obesity, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. Biological Psychology, 74, 212-223.

Mejía-Mejía, E., Torres, R., & Restrepo, D. (2017). Physiological coherence in healthy volunteers during laboratory-induced stress and controlled breathing. Psychophysiology, 55, e13046.

Meston, C. M. (2000). Sympathetic nervous system activity and female sexual arousal. American Journal of Cardiology, 86, 30F-34F.

Meston, C. M., & Frohlich, P. F. (2003). Love at first fright: Partner salience moderates the roller-coaster-induced excitation transfer. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 32, 537-544.

Mitani, S., Fujita, M., Sakamoto, S., & Shirakawa, T. (2006). Effect of autogenic training on cardiac autonomic nervous activity in high-risk fire service workers for posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 60, 439-444.

Moser, M., Lehofer, M., Sedminek, A., Lux, M., Zapotoczky, H. G., Kenner, T., & Noordergraaf, A. (1994). Heart rate variability as a prognostic tool in cardiology. A contribution to the problem from a theoretical point of view. Circulation, 90, 1078-1082.

O’Neal, W. T., Chen, L. Y., Nazarian, S., & Soliman, E. Z. (2016). Reference range for short term heart rate variability measures in individuals free of cardiovascular disease: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Journal of Electrocardiology, 49, 686-690.

Palmore, E. B. (1982). Predictors of the longevity difference: A 25-year follow-up. Gerontologist, 22, 513-518.

Philippson, S., & Hartmann, U. (2009). Determinants of sexual satisfaction in a sample of German women. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 6, 1001-1010.

Porges, S. W. (1998). Love: An emergent property of the mammalian autonomic nervous system. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 23, 837-861.

Quintana, D. S., Guastella, A. J., Outhred, T., Hickie, I. B., & Kemp, A. H. (2012). Heart rate variability is associated with emotion recognition: Direct evidence for a relationship between the autonomic nervous system and social cognition. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 86, 168-172.

Stanton, A. M., Lorenz, T. A., Pulverman, C. S., & Meston, C. M. (2015). Heart rate variability: A risk factor for female sexual dysfunction. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 40, 229-237.

Stanton, A. M., & Meston, C. M. (2017). A single session of autogenic training increases acute subjective and physiological sexual arousal in sexually functional women. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 43, 601-617.

Stuckey, B. G., Walsh, G. P., Ching, H. L., Stuckey, A. W., Palmer, N. R., Thompson, P. L., & Watts, G. F. (2007). Erectile dysfunction predicts generalized cardiovascular disease: Evidence from a case-control study. Atherosclerosis, 194, 458-464.

Tao, P., & Brody, S. (2011). Sexual behavior predictors of satisfaction in a Chinese sample. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 8, 455-460.

Thayer, J. F., Hansen, A. L., Saus-Rose, E., & Johsen, B. H. (2009). Heart rate variability, prefrontal neural function, and cognitive performance: The neurovisceral integration perspective on self-regulation, adaptation, and health. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 37, 141-153.

Thayer, J. F., & Lane, R. D. (2000). A model of neurovisceral integration in emotion regulation and dysregulation. Journal of Affective Disorders, 61, 201-216.

Thayer, J. F., & Lane, R. D. (2007). The role of vagal function in the risk for cardiovascular disease and mortality. Biological Psychology, 74, 224-242.

Thayer, J., Yamamoto, S., & Brosschot, J. (2010). The relationship of autonomic imbalance, heart rate variability and cardiovascular disease risk factors. International Journal of Cardiology, 141, 122-131.

Tuininga, Y. S., Crijns, H. J., Brouwer, J., van den Berg, M. P., Man in’t Veld, A. J., Mulder, G., & Lie, K. I. (1995). Evaluation of importance of central effects of atenolol and metaprolol measured by heart rate variability during mental performance tasks, physical exercise, and daily life in stable postinfarct patients. Circulation, 92, 3415-3423.

Twenge, J. M., Sherman, R. A., & Wells, B. E. (2017a). Sexual activity during young adulthood is more common among U. S. Millennials and iGen: Age, period, and cohort effects on having no sexual partners after age 18. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 46, 433-440.

Twenge, J. M., Sherman, R. A., & Wells, B. E. (2017b). Declines in sexual frequency among American adults, 1989-2014. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 46, 2389-2401.

van der Zwan, J. E., de Vente, W., Huizink, A. C., Bogels, S. M., & de Bruin, E. I. (2015). Physical activity, mindfulness meditation, or heart rate variability feedback for stress reduction: A randomized controlled trial. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 40, 257-268.

Van Diest, I., Verstappen, K., Aubert, A. E., Widjaja, D., Vansteenwegen, D., & Vlemincx, E. (2014). Inhalation/exhalation ratio modulates the effect of slow breathing on heart rate variability and relaxation. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 39, 171-180.

Weiss, P., & Brody, S. (2011). International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) scores generated by men or female partners correlate equally well with own satisfaction (sexual, partnership, mental, life). Journal of Sexual Medicine, 8, 1404-1410.

Zangrando, F., Piccinini, G., Tagliolini, C., Marsilli, G., Iosa, M., Vulpiani, M. C., & Paolucci, T. (2017). The efficacy of a preparatory phase of a touch-based approach in treating chronic low back pain: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Pain Research, 10, 941-949.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.14417/ap.1524

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Nº ERC: 107494 | ISSN (in print): 0870-8231 | ISSN (online): 1646-6020 | Copyright © ISPA - CRL, 2012 | Rua Jardim do Tabaco, 34, 1149-041 Lisboa | NIF: 501313672 | The portal and metadata are licensed under the license Creative Commons CC BY-NC