From Breath to Bedroom: Improving Male Performance Through Better Breathing

You may have heard that pelvic floor physical therapists are obsessed with breathing exercises. Well… we have good reason to be obsessed because there are so many benefits! Just to list off a few: brain function, sleep quality, lung health, posture, core stability, and stress reduction. But not many people realize that breathing can also be valuable to sexual performance, especially in males.

Breathing during sexual performance is directly correlated with the nervous system. Two aspects of the nervous system we are going to discuss is the parasympathetic and the sympathetic nervous system.

The parasympathetic nervous system’s primary role in erections is initiating and maintaining the erection. Nitric oxide relaxes the penile blood vessels to encourage an increased blood flow into the penile tissue. Using slow nasal breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system, on the other hand, triggers emission and ejaculation during an orgasm by coordination contractions of pelvic floor muscles combined with increased heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate. Utilizing quick breaths heightens the sympathetic nervous system.

Below are a couple of breathing exercises for prepping as well as apply during sexual performance.

1. With any type of breathing exercise, it is recommended to focus on rib cage mobility for optimal diaphragm and core function. During the inhale, expand the rib cage on all sides (front, side, and back). While abdominal and chest movement will occur, the movement of breathing should predominately be in the rib cage. During the exhale, return the rage “down and in” without pushing the abdominal wall out. Practice this with a 4 second inhale through the nose and controlled exhale through the mouth for 6 seconds.
2. Box breathing: breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 4 seconds, exhale through your mouth for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 4 seconds.
3. 4-7-8 breathing: breathing I through your nose for 4 seconds, hold breath for 7 seconds, controlled exhale through mouth for 8 seconds.
4. During the early stages of penetration and masturbation, begin with slow paced breathing lasting approximately 10 seconds. This involves breathing in through the nose with a controlled exhale through nose or mouth. Avoid inhaling through your mouth since this can decrease nitric oxide intake and increase stress hormone. Add pelvic rocking and pelvic floor contractions with breathing for increased benefits.
5. During the end stages of penetration and masturbation, increase breathing to approximately 1 second for response of orgasm and ejaculation. This is also a good time to increase pelvic movements and/or pelvic floor contractions for full effect.

Schedule now for more information on how to improve your pelvic health and benefit sexual performance!