High-intensity interval training (HIIT) and slow breathing interventions alleviate premature ejaculation (PE) symptoms

Caoyuan Niu; Guangju Wen; Daniel Ventus; Patrick Jern; Thomas J Nyman; Yansong Li; Pekka Santtila

doi:10.1016/j.ijchp.2024.100457

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) and slow breathing interventions alleviate premature ejaculation (PE) symptoms

Int J Clin Health Psychol. 2024 Apr-Jun;24(2):100457. doi: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2024.100457. Epub 2024 Apr 11.

Authors

Caoyuan Niu^{1

2}, Guangju Wen², Daniel Ventus³, Patrick Jern⁴, Thomas J Nyman², Yansong Li^{5

6

7}, Pekka Santtila^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
² Faculty of Arts and Sciences, NYU Shanghai, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
³ Experience Lab, Faculty of Education and Welfare Studies, Åbo Akademi University, Vasa, Finland.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Psychology and Theology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland.
⁵ Reward, Competition, and Social Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
⁶ Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
⁷ Institute for Brain Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.

Abstract

Background: Physical exercise may alleviate premature ejaculation symptoms, a prevalent male sexual dysfunction linked to a series of negative outcomes for men and their partners.

Objective: We investigated the effectiveness of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and slow breathing interventions on premature ejaculation symptoms and their relation to autonomic activity and attention regulation.

Method: Chinese adult men (N = 76, M = 21.89, SD = 3.32) with premature ejaculation completed one of the two-week interventions in their homes or as participants in a normal breathing control group; they reported their age, height, weight, physical activity level, premature ejaculation symptoms, and attention regulation. In the HIIT group, 26 participants engaged in a 7-minute HIIT each day. In the slow breathing group, 25 participants performed 7-minute slow breathing exercises per day while the 25 participants in the normal breathing group similarly performed normal breathing exercises. All participants measured their heart rate once before and five times (with one-minute intervals) after the intervention. When participants had penile-vaginal sex with their partners, they measured their heart rate once after ejaculation.

Results: Time × Intervention interaction was significant with lower levels of premature ejaculation symptoms on Days 12, 13, and 14 in the HIIT group (M ± SD = 16.19 ± 3.45, 15.96 ± 3.43, and 15.15 ± 3.62) compared to the normal breathing group (M ± SD = 17.68 ± 3.06, 17.68 ± 3.15, and 17.44 ± 3.25). Higher levels of attention regulation were associated with fewer premature ejaculation symptoms. We also found that a larger increase in heart rate from resting to after sex was associated with fewer premature ejaculation symptoms.

Conclusion: Compared to the control group, the efficacy of two weeks of HIIT exercise in mitigating PE symptoms suggests its potential as a novel treatment for PE.

Keywords: Attention regulation; Breathing training; Heart rate; High-intensity interval training; Premature ejaculation.