Yoga can help men last more than THREE times longer in bed, study suggests 

Men who want to last longer in the bedroom may want to try yoga and pelvic floor exercises.

Up to a third of men do not last as long during sex as they or their partner would like, which can lead to low self-esteem and anxiety.

Now a scientific review suggests self-help techniques which may help to tackle the problem.

Going for a run for at least half an hour a day, five times a week, could help men last two and a half minutes longer, according to a study looked at in the review.

Yoga could add 30 seconds to their staying power, more evidence suggests.

Exercise is good for mental health, so make men less anxious about sex, so that they can calmly go for longer.

There is also evidence that psychological therapy and stopping during the act may be helpful.

The review, led by Anglia Ruskin University, looked only at men who suffer from premature ejaculation.

This can be defined as not lasting as long as a man or their partner wants, or sometimes is defined as lasting for less than three minutes or one minute.

Physical activity should be looked at as a potential strategy to help men improve their sexual performance, the authors of the review conclude, after analysing 54 studies including 3,485 men.

Most studies looking at premature ejaculation are small (SUBS – pls keep), but the review included a study involving men aged 18 to 45 given instructions to take exercise.

The 35 men in the study told to run for at least 30 minutes a day, over five days a week, went from lasting 39 seconds on average during sex to more than three minutes.

That was compared to inactive men, told to walk no more than half an hour a day for five days a week, who lasted only 50 seconds at the end of the study.

The result for men who went running was similar to 35 men given a drug called dapoxetine – a drug known to help with premature ejaculation, but which has common side effects including nausea and dizziness.

The review also included a recent study of men with premature ejaculation, among whom 26 men undertook 12 weeks of yoga.

The amount of time they lasted during sex afterwards more than tripled, from just under 26 seconds to almost a minute and a half on average.

The review found some weak evidence that a ginseng berry extract could improve men’s sexual performance but much more research is needed.

Meanwhile a study analysed, involving 31 men, showed encouraging results for a technique called ‘pause-squeeze’, where men stop having sex and squeeze the head of their penis to stop things all being over too soon.

After men tried this method, they were able to last for an average of three minutes, compared to one minute previously.

There is evidence that pelvic floor exercises may help men last longer, but it was difficult to separate the effect of this from electric stimulation, which was used in the same studies and may help to desensitise men to sex.

Ejaculating too soon is not just a young man’s problem.

Up to half of men with premature ejaculation also have erectile dysfunction, and experts suggest the fear of maintaining an erection may lead some older men to ejaculate too soon.

Lee Smith, professor of public health at Anglia Ruskin University, and senior author of the review, said: ‘Strategies for men to help them last longer in the bedroom could help improve their relationship with their partner and their self-esteem.

‘This evidence is based on studies involving a small number of men, and we need more research in this area, but approaches like physical activity could help all men.

‘This is not just for men diagnosed with premature ejaculation.

‘Most men may not have performed as well as they wanted to at some point, and could benefit from lifestyle changes and techniques to help last longer.’

The NHS advises men with premature ejaculation that they can try using a thick condom to help decrease sensation, take a deep breath to briefly shut down the ejaculatory reflex, and take breaks during sex where they distract themselves by thinking about something completely different.