WEIRD STUFF

Sex boosts athlete's performance

Sex before exercise can boost a male athlete's performance.

In the study from the University of Valladolid, 21 high-level male athletes aged 18 to 25 -- competing in sports including basketball, long-distance running and judo -- were tested on two separate occasions.

Thirty minutes before one session, the athletes were asked to pleasure themselves. Before the other, they abstained from all sexual activity for seven days.

The results? The men performed better after sexual activity.

Following self-pleasure, athletes were able to exercise 3.2 per cent longer on a stationary bike endurance test and recorded slightly stronger grip strength using a dynamometer.

Researchers also measured testosterone and cortisol levels -- hormones linked to performance -- and noted small, short-lived spikes after sexual activity.

The team explained: "Masturbation 30 minutes before exercise elicited mild sympathetic and hormonal activation without detrimental effects on performance or muscle damage.

"These findings suggest that pre-exercise sexual activity does not impair athletic capacity in trained men, challenging the long-standing myth of mandatory abstinence before competition."

The scientists believe sex may act as a kind of "natural warm-up" for the nervous system.

They added in the journal Physiology and Behaviour: "Taken together, these findings suggest that a single post-orgasmic episode does not compromise subsequent exercise performance, nor does it increase physiological stress.

"Rather, the data indicate a short-lived shift in neuroendocrine tone and autonomic balance consistent with sympathetic arousal followed by partial parasympathetic rebound."

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Fake Viagra floods market

Britain is being swamped with fake Viagra -- and officials warn the dodgy blue pills could pose a deadly risk.

Almost 20 million counterfeit erectile dysfunction doses have been seized in the past five years, according to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) -- roughly one pill for three in four men in the UK.

The watchdog says criminals are cashing in on embarrassment.

Andy Morling, head of the MHRA's criminal enforcement unit, said: "Stigma and embarrassment are being exploited by criminals selling fake medicines that can seriously harm your health.

"These seizures show the sheer scale of the illegal market for erectile dysfunction medicines in the UK - and the risks people are taking without realising."

Between 2021 and 2025, the agency confiscated around 19.5 million doses of illegal ED drugs -- including 4.4 million in 2025 alone. Annual seizures have more than doubled since 2022.

Officials warn the pills may look convincing -- but what's inside could be anything.

Morling said: "Any medicine not authorised for sale in the UK can be unsafe or ineffective and there is no way of knowing what is in them or the negative health effects they can have.

"These pills may look genuine, but many are potentially dangerous.

"These products may contain no active ingredient, the wrong dose, hidden drugs or toxic ingredients."

Lab tests on fake Viagra bought online have previously uncovered alarming ingredients including detergents and even printer ink. Many are manufactured in unhygienic conditions with no quality control.

While medicines sold legally in the UK must pass strict safety standards, rogue sellers operate through shady websites and social media accounts.

In 2025 alone, the MHRA disrupted more than 1,500 websites and social media accounts illegally selling medical products, and removed 1,200 posts.

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Reading reduces dementia risk -- study

Curling up with a good book or writing in a diary could slash your dementia risk by almost 40 per cent.

Researchers found that lifelong exposure to intellectually stimulating environments -- from being read to as a child to regular reading in later life -- has a powerful impact on brain health.

Study author Andrea Zammit, of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, said cognitive health in later life was "strongly influenced" by lifelong exposure to intellectually stimulating environments.

She said: "Our findings are encouraging, suggesting that consistently engaging in a variety of mentally stimulating activities throughout life may make a difference in cognition.

"Public investments that expand access to enriching environments, like libraries and early education programmes designed to spark a lifelong love of learning, may help reduce the incidence of dementia."