Drink water after sex, doctor advises

Steamy bedroom sessions are leaving couples tired and listless because they are not drinking enough water to replenish their fluids, according to new research.

Half-an-hour of making love can be as strenuous as a three-mile run, but only 42% of people drink water after making love.

By contrast, 96% of people reach for a bottle after running, according to figures compiled by NOP for mineral water company Highland Spring.

Dr John Leiper, expert in fluid balance and hydration at Aberdeen University, said: "Sweating, flushing and panting are all signs that the heart rate is faster, meaning that the body is reacting in the same way to sex as it does to other cardiovascular exercises.

"As we go about our daily activities we continually lose water, even when we are not visibly sweating, so when we take part in exercise or sexual activity this water loss increases and we need to replace it to prevent dehydration."

Dehydration leads to fatigue, lethargy and headaches, meaning couples risk waking up the next day sapped of their energy and libido if they do not take enough water on board.

According to the Penguin Atlas of Human Sexual Behaviour, the French not only consume five times as much bottled water per head as the British, but also have sex more often than any other Europeans.