Abstract
Sexual activity (SA), both sexual intercourse and masturbation, was recorded every day, during the course of 14 months, in five males (26–32 years), synchronized with lights-on at 0700 ± 1 hr and lights-off at 2300 ± 1.5 hr. Circadian rhythms of plasma testosterone (pT), LH, and FSH (among other hormonal variables) were documented every other month during the same time span (sampling at 4-hr intervals, for 28 hr, on test days). Both conventional and cosinor methods were used for statistical analysis to validate ultradian (~ 8 hr), circadian (~ 24 hr), and circannual (~ 1 year) rhythms. The detected rhythms were quantified in terms of acrophase ø (location of the peak on the time scale), amplitude A (half the total variability), and rhythm-adjusted mean M. Circadian rhythms are detected for both SA and pT. The circadian chronograms for SA computed on a monthly basis, during the year, show two prominent peaks located in the late evening and early morning (and a minor peak in the early afternoon). The circadian pT ø shows an annual phase shift (pT ø is found in May at ~ 0800 and in November at ~ 1400 with p <0.05). Circannual rhythms are detected as well with ø located on September 10 for SA (from July 16 to December 10, with 95% confidence limits); pT ø on October 6 (from July 16 to December 26); FSH ø on February 6 (from December 1 to April 10); and LH ø on March 8 (from January 18 to April 26). The autumnal peak in plasma testosterone 24-hr mean level is presumably one factor which favored the autumnal rise in sexual activity of the subjects.
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Reinberg, A., Lagoguey, M. Circadian and circannual rhythms in sexual activity and plasma hormones (FSH, LH, Testosterone) of five human males. Arch Sex Behav 7, 13–30 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01541895
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01541895