- Women were more than two to three times more turned on by porn after exercising for eight weeks.
- Eating a vegan diet also boosted arousal. The results were part of a diet study on identical twins.
Getting your workout on could help get you in the mood, according to a recent experiment on identical twins.
Researchers found that two pairs of women were more than twice as turned on while watching porn after following an eight-week diet and exercise routine, according to a new Netflix docuseries "You Are What You Eat."
The series is based on a study that followed 22 sets of twins as one member of each pair tried a vegan diet and the other followed an omnivore diet. All were encouraged to exercise.
Researchers conducted tests on various health metrics to see if there was any difference between participants on the vegan diet and their omnivorous counterparts. A smaller subset of the group, the twins who were featured in the docuseries, participated in additional testing and experiments.
A previous Netflix documentary on vegan diets suggested that a vegan diet may lead to better erections for men. Although more research is needed to support that hypothesis, it's true that eating more plants can improve blood flow which may lead to enhanced sexual function, a urologist previously told Business Insider.
However, there hadn't previously been a comparable test on women's sexual arousal related to diet, Dr. Irwin Goldstein, director of San Diego Sexual Medicine, said in the Netflix series.
The researchers confirmed their hypothesis that a plant-based diet increased arousal in women, but found that exercise kicked in a surprising boost to sex drive too.
Exercising and eating plant-based can literally fire up your sex drive
For the experiment, the four women were asked to watch different videos as lab equipment was used to measure their genital temperature (indicating how turned on they were).
First, the participants watched a non-arousing documentary on birds, to assess their baseline measurements. Then, they watched a pornographic video of their choice. The test was conducted at the beginning of the study, and again at the end of the eight weeks.
The resulting debrief was predictably comedic as the twins provided commentary on their experience, with lots of giggles along the way. One twin, indulging in the classic "cleaning guy" trope for her video fantasy, had some critiques of the plot.
"I was kinda judgy," she said. "I'm like, 'That's not how you clean a rug!'"
However, the results of the test were nothing to laugh at. All four of the women were more than twice as turned on by the porn at the end of the study. The vegan participants had even better results, increasing their arousal by more than 300%.
The results were "remarkable" Goldstein said. But both women on the vegan diets said they missed dairy too much to continue with the eating plan — apparently, even the promise of hotter sex can't compete with delicious cheese.
The consistent exercise regimen of working with a personal trainer and performing workouts with cardio and bodyweight movement paid off in boosting sexual response for the non-vegans, too.
The benefits of exercise for your sex life are supported by previous research, like a 2019 study that found that doing cardio may lead to better orgasms in women and reduced risk of erectile dysfunction in men.
Finding a link between exercise and arousal also has important health implications, since good sexual function can be an indicator of overall health, according to Goldstein.
"We call the blood vessels of the genitals, which are less than a millimeter, the canary in the coal mine," he said. "It can help us paint a bigger picture of the person's overall blood-flow health."
Exercising isn't just sexy, it can boost your health and longevity too
It's still not clear if one type of exercise is ideal for better sex, although certain movements like glute bridges and "bird dogs" can help loosen up your body for a better bedroom experience.
And working out isn't just for making your life sexier — it can also help boost your overall health and extend your lifespan, too.
More doesn't necessarily mean better, though, so be wary of exercising too much without making time for recovery, which can lead to increased stress, poor sleep, and lower libido.