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This article, My Husband and I Had Sex Every Day for a Year — Here's How We're Doing Now claims that a particular married couple have had sex (almost) every day for a year.

I am skeptical - Are most men physically capably of having full sex (including ejaculation) 365 days in row?

This is a physical/medical question and is not aimed at asking any of the related interesting questions about sex.

Simd
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  • Most comments were speculation. – Sklivvz Jan 04 '18 at 08:25
  • I’m not a frequenter of the Skeptics site, but I don’t understand why this question has been downvoted so many times. I’m not necessarily objecting, but I’d still like to know why. – gen-ℤ ready to perish Jan 11 '18 at 15:31
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    @ChaseRyanTaylor Probably a lot of men know for themselves that it is easily possible, so they think it is a silly question. But then there are other people, like young women/girls, that have no way of knowing, or men/boys who never been in the situation of having sex with a partner many days consecutively, who upvote. – DavePhD Jan 11 '18 at 18:39
  • @ChaseRyanTaylor: This question is (now) structured like a valid Skeptics.SE question and follows all the community standards, so I am leaving my mod hammer in its holster. However, typical questions start with an extraordinary claim - the skeptical stance is to ask for evidence before accepting it. This starts with a rather prosaic claim, and it requires an extraordinary speculation to doubt it - that there is a hypothetical limit to sexual acts that is unlikely to be met. – Oddthinking Jan 11 '18 at 20:04

1 Answers1

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The biological limitation on men having repeated sex is called the Refractory Period. During this period, after orgasm, a man is generally unable to maintain an erection or achieve orgasm, and may be psychologically uninterested in sex.

The refractory period varies between men and increases with age. For younger men the period can be a matter of minutes. For older men it can be 12-24 hours. In some cases it can be days. There is also a refractory period for women, but it is more complex and in any case does not prevent a women physically from having sex.

Without an experiment there is no way we can be certain it is possible, but we know of nothing biological preventing some (probably most) men from having sex every day.

DJClayworth
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    I am not sure about the scientific basis for this answer. Take a young man with refractory period of 20 minutes. I don’t believe he could have sex and ejaculate 72 times in a 24 hour period. There is a cumulative effect that is not covered by the refractory period. – Simd Jan 02 '18 at 22:22
  • @felipa That's not what the question is about. – DJClayworth Jan 02 '18 at 22:38
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    I agree with @felipa I don't think this answer shows any evidence that the refractory period is the only limit to having sex. There's likely some sort of cumulative effect. – Christian Jan 03 '18 at 00:56
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    My point can be extended to sex every day. The fact that you can have sex three days in a row doesn't mean you can have it 365 days in a row necessarily. – Simd Jan 03 '18 at 09:05
  • @felipa - Yeah, but someone with a refractory period of 20 minutes would probably not feel especially taxed by performing one or two times in a 24-hour period for a nearly unlimited string of days. The fact that one can, theoretically, have sex 72 times a day probably means 365 times a year is not even much of a physical challenge. I'm wondering why you think otherwise, as you've repeatedly stated. – PoloHoleSet Jan 03 '18 at 20:00
  • @PoloHoleSet Male friends have told me they can (physically) ejaculate through masturbation more frequently than they can through sex. Now that isn’t scientific data but I know no male friend who has had sex every day for a fortnight even and some were quite promiscuous when young. – Simd Jan 03 '18 at 23:07
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    @felipa: yes, but do you think the reason for any of them not having had sex every day was because he was physically unable to ejaculate after a certain number of days? – paradisi Jan 04 '18 at 00:36
  • @sumelic It seems they can’t get interested enough to get and hold an erection long enough to ejaculate through sex after many days in a row but could through masturbation. – Simd Jan 04 '18 at 06:40
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    This answer is theoretical: *theoretically* if one has a refractory period of less than 24 hours, they could have sex every day; *practically* you haven't shown that they can do so 365 times in a row. I'm leaving it because it does acknowledge some of its limits, but that makes it a very partial answer. – Sklivvz Jan 04 '18 at 08:26
  • In view of the extended discussion on this answer (most of which seems to centre on what people *think* might be true) let me reiterate what this answer says. We don't *know* of anything that would prevent someone having sex every day. It doesn't say "it's possible", That is the current state of knowledge.If someone has better knowledge, feel free to make another answer. – DJClayworth Jan 04 '18 at 14:15
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    @felipa - well, just because your friends *didn't*, doesn't mean they *couldn't*. I had a couple relationships where *at least* daily, for a fortnight or more, was not an issue, so if we're going by anecdote, there's that. Remember, you're not asking if everyone or even most people can, you're asking if it's possible. – PoloHoleSet Jan 04 '18 at 16:17
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    @Sklivvz Could you explain what you mean by "theoretical answer"? The refractory period is well-known and practical, and not theoretical. You write "practically you haven't shown that they can do so 365 times in a row". You are correct **and I don't claim that in my answer**. All I say is that we don't know of anything preventing it, which is true and not theoretical. – DJClayworth Jan 06 '18 at 16:43
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    @DJClayworth you need to reference 2 things: 1) that we don't know of anything preventing it, which is a stronger statement than the null of "we don't know if it is possible" and 2) that the refractory period is constant over a year of continuous sex (which is what makes the answer theoretical). You might not say it out loud, but you imply it -- otherwise this answer would not address the question at all. – Sklivvz Jan 07 '18 at 18:05
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    Whether the refractory period is consistent over a year is one of the things we don't know, so your two points are really the same. As for not knowing if there is another factor preventing continuous sex, I'm happy if someone provides an answer that gives such a limitation, and vote it up. I'm happy to leave the answer. I don't think people will read into it more than I am saying. – DJClayworth Jan 07 '18 at 21:14