['
It’s
', 'the
', 'night
', 'before
', 'the
', '10K
', "you've
", 'been
', 'training
', 'for,
', 'and
', 'as
', "you're
", 'getting
', 'ready
', 'to
', 'turn
', 'in
', 'for
', 'the
', 'night
', 'your
', 'partner
', 'starts
', 'tempting
', 'you
', 'to
', 'heat
', 'things
', 'up
', 'between
', 'the
', 'sheets.
', 'You
', 'want
', 'to,
', 'but
', 'you
', 'have
', 'a
', 'big
', 'day
', 'tomorrow,
', 'and
', "you're
", 'worried
', 'that
', 'sex
', 'could
', 'throw
', 'you
', 'off
', 'your
', 'game.
', 'RELATED:
', 'Why
', 'Having
', 'More
', 'Quickies
', 'Will
', 'Improve
', 'Your
', 'Sex
', 'Life
', 'This
', 'no-sex
', 'guideline
', 'is
', 'something
', 'lots
', 'of
', 'athletes
', 'and
', 'fitness
', 'enthusiasts
', 'have
', 'long
', 'believed.
', 'But
', 'is
', 'there
', 'any
', 'truth
', 'to
', 'it?
', 'Former
', 'NFL
', 'player
', 'Garry
', 'Cobb
', 'seems
', 'to
', 'think
', 'so.
', 'Cobb
', 'is
', 'an
', 'Eagles
', 'analyst
', 'for
', 'Philadelphia
', 'TV
', 'station
', 'Fox
', '29,
', 'and
', 'in
', 'a
', 'recent
', 'morning
', 'newscast,
', 'he
', 'said
', 'the
', 'players
', 'need
', 'to
', 'have
', 'a
', '“fast”
', 'from
', 'sex
', 'to
', 'reverse
', 'their
', '2-3
', 'start
', 'to
', 'the
', 'season.
', '“It
', 'fogs
', 'up
', 'your
', 'mind,”
', 'he
', 'added.
', 'Cobb
', 'isn’t
', 'the
', 'only
', 'one
', 'who
', 'believes
', 'sex
', 'can
', 'screw
', 'with
', 'athletic
', 'performance.
', 'Last
', 'year,
', 'Kate
', 'Upton
', 'told
', 'E!
', 'News
', 'that
', 'her
', 'husband,
', 'Houston
', 'Astros
', 'pitcher
', 'Justin
', 'Verlander,
', 'won’t
', 'have
', 'sex
', 'before
', 'or
', 'after
', 'a
', 'big
', 'game.
', 'But
', "here's
", 'the
', 'thing:
', 'Science
', 'says
', 'that
', 'people
', 'who
', 'skip
', 'sex
', 'to
', 'do
', 'better
', 'during
', 'a
', 'race,
', 'game,
', 'or
', 'other
', 'fitness
', 'competition
', 'are
', 'likely
', 'depriving
', 'themselves
', 'of
', 'pleasure
', 'for
', 'no
', 'reason.
', '“Sex
', 'itself
', 'isn’t
', 'linked
', 'with
', 'negative
', 'performance,”
', 'Ian
', 'Kerner
', ',
', 'PhD,
', 'a
', 'New
', 'York
', 'City–based
', 'psychotherapist
', 'specializing
', 'in
', 'sex
', 'therapy,
', 'tells
', 'Health
', '.
', '“It’s
', 'less
', 'about
', 'sex
', 'and
', 'more
', 'about
', 'the
', 'environment
', 'sex
', 'happens
', 'in.”
', 'RELATED:
', '9
', 'Things
', 'You
', 'Can
', 'Do
', 'to
', 'Make
', 'It
', 'Easier
', 'to
', '
Have
', 'an
', 'Orgasm
', 'During
', 'Sex
', 'What
', 'Kerner
', 'means
', 'is,
', 'if
', 'an
', 'athlete
', 'is
', 'going
', 'out
', 'and
', 'drinking
', 'or
', 'doing
', 'drugs
', 'the
', 'night
', 'before
', 'a
', 'game
', 'and
', 'ends
', 'up
', 'going
', 'home
', 'with
', 'someone
', 'to
', 'hook
', 'up,
', 'they’ll
', 'likely
', 'perform
', 'worse
', 'the
', 'next
', 'day.
', 'However,
', 'their
', 'poorer
', 'performance
', 'wouldn’t
', 'be
', 'because
', 'of
', 'the
', 'sex,
', 'but
', 'because
', 'of
', 'the
', 'substances
', 'they
', 'used
', 'and
', 'lack
', 'of
', 'sleep.
', 'A
', '2016
', 'study
', 'published
', 'in
', 'Frontiers
', 'in
', 'Physiology
', 'also
', 'found
', 'no
', 'link
', 'between
', 'sex
', 'and
', 'fitness
', 'performance.
', 'The
', 'study
', 'concluded
', 'that
', '"doubts
', 'remain
', 'regarding
', 'the
', 'possible
', 'negative
', 'impact
', 'of
', 'sexual
', 'activity
', 'the
', 'night
', 'before
', 'competition.
', '(The
', 'study
', 'also
', 'said
', "there's
", 'no
', 'sound
', 'data
', 'on
', 'how
', 'masturbation
', 'effects
', 'things,
', 'FYI
', 'for
', 'solo
', 'sex
', 'fans.)
', 'On
', 'the
', 'other
', 'hand,
', 'if
', 'you’re
', 'at
', 'home
', 'with
', 'your
', 'partner
', 'and
', 'are
', 'able
', 'to
', 'enjoy
', 'some
', 'action
', 'while
', 'still
', 'getting
', 'to
', 'sleep
', 'at
', 'a
', 'reasonable
', 'hour,
', 'Kerner
', 'says
', 'go
', 'for
', 'it—sex
', 'could
', 'actually
', 'help
', 'calm
', 'your
', 'nerves
', 'and
', 'relieve
', 'stress
', '.
', '“If
', 'anything,
', 'sex
', 'can
', 'be
', 'a
', 'boost
', 'to
', 'your
', 'self-esteem,”
', 'Kerner
', 'says,
', 'adding
', 'that
', 'research
', 'has
', 'shown
', 'having
', 'sex
', 'with
', 'a
', 'partner
', 'is
', 'linked
', 'to
', 'feeling
', 'both
', 'loved
', 'and
', 'desirable.
', 'People
', 'with
', 'higher
', 'self-esteem
', 'also
', 'perform
', 'better
', 'at
', 'work
', 'and
', 'socially,
', 'and
', 'Kerner
', 'said
', 'that
', 'could
', 'translate
', 'to
', 'the
', 'playing
', 'field
', 'as
', 'well.
', 'There
', 'you
', 'have
', 'it:
', 'If
', 'you’ve
', 'been
', 'purposely
', 'keeping
', 'things
', 'chaste
', 'in
', 'the
', 'bedroom
', 'before
', 'a
', 'game
', 'or
', 'important
', 'gym
', 'session,
', 'you’re
', 'clear
', 'to
', 'crank
', 'up
', 'the
', 'heat.
', 'To
', 'get
', 'our
', 'top
', 'stories
', 'delivered
', 'to
', 'your
', 'inbox,
', 'sign
', 'up
', 'for
', 'the
', 'Healthy
', 'Living
', 'newsletter
']