The Connection Between Stress and Sexual Performance

Sexual health plays an important role in physical wellbeing and emotional connection, yet stress can quickly interfere with how your body and your mind respond. The result can leave you and your partner feeling frustrated, worried, or less confident about sexual performance.

Understanding this connection and what you can do to improve sexual health isn’t easy, but fortunately, the team at STL Medical Weight Loss can help. In this post, Joseph Moleski, DO, and Laura Howard, FNP, review the connection between sexual wellness and stress, so you can take the steps you need to improve your wellness and your quality of life.

Stress and sex: A complex relationship

Stress affects sexual performance and intimacy in several ways, which is one reason why it can be very difficult to “fix” a stress-related issue without a medical treatment plan behind you. Below are just a few of the ways chronic stress could be affecting your sexual health and wellness.

Changes in mood

Stress influences emotions as much as it does physical health. Over time, chronic stress leads to anxiety, irritability, and other mood-related issues, making it more difficult to connect with your partner and lowering your level of sexual interest. 

Chronic stress also affects coping skills, leading to additional frustration and irritability, taking a toll on your underlying relationship with your partner — another factor that makes sex less enjoyable.

Changes in hormones

When the body experiences stress, it produces cortisol — the “stress hormone” responsible for the fight-or-flight response. While short bursts can help us react in times of acute stress or emergency, over time, elevated levels of cortisol can wear us out physically and emotionally, reducing sexual desire. 

What’s more, persistently elevated cortisol levels can also lower testosterone and estrogen, two key hormones that drive libido and sexual wellness. This effect can lead to erectile dysfunction in men and vaginal dryness and painful intercourse in women.

Changes in energy

Dealing with stress on a daily basis is fatiguing, leaving us with less energy for other activities and interests — especially interests like sexual activity that require both physical and emotional energy. 

When we’re tired out, it’s much harder to muster up the energy to engage in sex, and often, it’s difficult to even feel interested in intimacy.

Changes in weight — and sexual confidence

Stress frequently leads to “emotional eating,” along with increased intake of foods high in fats, carbs, and other sugars — in short, all the choices that pack on extra pounds. 

Even a modest weight gain can make us feel more sluggish and less interested in any type of physical activity, while also making us feel less attractive and confident during intimacy. Combined, these effects result in a decreased desire, lower libido, and a decline in emotional connection.

Managing stress for better sexual health

When you’re stressed out, it can be especially challenging to handle the additional stress that comes from sexual discordance and dissatisfaction. In fact, trying to deal with stress and its effects on intimacy on your own can lead to additional frustration and long-term effects on your relationships and emotional wellness.

Fortunately, our team has extensive experience in managing sexual wellness issues, using a patient-centered approach that takes your specific details and concerns into account. Your journey to better sexual health begins with a consultation visit, which includes health evaluations designed to identify the root causes of stress, allowing us to help you overcome your personal challenges successfully. 

For many women and men, metabolism and other physical health issues lie at the heart of sexual wellness issues, including decreased libido and increased stress. Once we determine the cause of your individual concerns, we work with you to develop a treatment plan focused on improving your physical and emotional well-being in all the ways that matter to you. 

Most importantly, our team recognizes that managing stress and improving overall health and wellness is a process that requires ongoing support for optimal, long-term results. We offer both in-person visits and telehealth visits to make it easy for you to continue to receive the care, support, and guidance you need to live your best life at every age.

Stress management tailored to your unique needs

Stress may be a normal part of life, but it shouldn’t interfere with your sexual health and well-being. To learn how we can help you enjoy a better sex life and improved health and wellness overall, call or book an appointment online with STL Medical Weight Loss at our Chesterfield, Missouri, practice today. 

Can’t make it to the office? We also offer telehealth services for patients in Missouri, Texas, Illinois, Kansas, Florida, Delaware, Arizona, New York, Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada, and Washington State.