Hump Days: How many are too many?

Q: After a week or so of having sex on a regular basis’like once or twice a day’I start to feel fatigued, unmotivated, impatient and negative. I can’t seem to concentrate, and I constantly procrastinate. I eat clean and weight train twice a week. I’ve talked to many doctors about it, and they say sex has nothing to do with my fatigue. My blood work shows I’m perfectly healthy. I’ve tried antidepressants, vitamins, herbal remedies, acupuncture and even increasing my aerobic exercise. I have no problems getting an erection or having an orgasm. I really enjoy sex, but all I seem to care about after I’ve done it for a while is eating and sleeping. I feel like a neutered dog. Could my testosterone levels be too low? What hormones am I losing by having a lot of orgams?

A: Hmm, does the phrase ‘too much of a good thing’ ring any bells with you, cowboy? Sex once or twice a day every day? If you were a teenager or taking hormone injections, I could understand, but what makes you think that particular schedule is ‘regular’or even healthy? Are you married to a nympho? What the heck are you trying to prove?

Taoists teach us that having sex around 150 times per year (that averages to three times per week) gives us the most benefit for health and general well-being. And according to a study conducted by Carl J. Charnetski, professor of psychology, and Francis X. Brennan Jr., assistant professor of psychology, at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, it seems that people who engage in sexual activity once or twice per week have substantially higher levels of the antibody immunoglobulin A (IgA) than those who have sex more than twice per week. (For the record, those who have sex once or twice per week also have higher IgA levels than those who have sex less than once per week or have no sexual activity.) IgA, which is found in all mucosal linings of the body and in the blood, is the most prevalent of the five major antibodies that work as part of the body’s defense mechanism against disease. The general function of one’s immune system can be inferred by measuring IgA levels.

Since you say your blood work is good and you don’t have any difficulties in achieving an erection or climaxing, your testosterone levels are more than likely normal. You also shouldn’t worry so much about what hormones you’re losing by having so many orgasms but what hormones you’re stimulating. Prolactin is a hormone created during orgasms that makes you relax and feel calm after climaxing. It’s responsible for putting men in the ‘refractory’ period following an orgasm. That’s the period of time it takes for a man to be motivated to start humping again. In some men it takes minutes, and in others it can take days. In your case it may take weeks. It appears that the excess of prolactin is suppressing your motivation for life in general rather than just sex. My advice is, don’t get too slap-happy when it comes to planning your coital calendar. Why not spend that extra time upping your weight-training schedule to three or four days per week? Sexual activity once or twice per week appears to be the optimum frequency for building a stronger immune system, and in your particular case that schedule may improve your energy and mood levels dramatically. If not, you may want to consider seeking advice from a professional sexual counselor or therapist in your community.

Editor’s note: Laura Moore is a science writer for Penthouse and the radio talk-show host of ‘The Health Nut.’ To learn more about her, visit www.thefitdiva.homestead.com.