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. 2012 Jun;43(3):352-61.
doi: 10.1007/s12160-011-9338-1.

Acute exercise improves physical sexual arousal in women taking antidepressants

Tierney A Lorenz  1 , Cindy M Meston
Affiliations

Acute exercise improves physical sexual arousal in women taking antidepressants

Tierney A Lorenz et al. Ann Behav Med. 2012 Jun.

Abstract

Background: Antidepressants can impair sexual arousal. Exercise increases genital arousal in healthy women, likely due to increasing sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity.

Purpose: Test if exercise increases genital arousal in women taking antidepressants, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which suppress SNS activity, and selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), which suppress the SNS less.

Method: Women reporting antidepressant-related sexual arousal problems (N = 47) participated in three counterbalanced sessions where they watched an erotic film while we recorded genital and SNS arousal. In two sessions, women exercised for 20 min, either 5 or 15 min prior to the films.

Results: During the no-exercise condition, women taking SSRIs showed significantly less genital response than women taking SNRIs. Exercise prior to sexual stimuli increased genital arousal in both groups. Women reporting greater sexual dysfunction had larger increases in genital arousal post-exercise. For women taking SSRIs, genital arousal was linked to SNS activity.

Conclusions: Exercise may improve antidepressant-related genital arousal problems.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Statement The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Experimental timeline. Note: “Pre-lab” time included informed consent procedures and fitness assessment (if that was the first time the participant was in the lab), or re-orientation to the procedures for that day (if they had attended a previous session). “N” indicates the 3-minute neutral video
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Effects of exercise on women’s genital sexual arousal. Note: SSRI: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor; SNRI: selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Relative increase in women’s genital sexual arousal between no-exercise control condition and exercise conditions. Note: SSRI: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor; SNRI: selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Interaction between sexual arousal functioning and genital arousal by condition
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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