Physiological and psychological mechanisms in the relationship between stress and sexual response in humans

关于压力对性/生殖功能影响的研究是矛盾的。主流假说认为压力对性功能和生殖功能有害。长期的压力可能会损害女性的性功能，因为怀孕是非常耗费精力的，而且年轻的婴儿在压力环境中生存的可能性更小。长期的压力也会影响男性的生育能力，但目前还不清楚它是否会影响他们的性行为。生理上，急性应激反应的目的是激活生存所需的能量资源，抑制所有不必要的功能，包括性功能。虽然压力对性功能的负面影响已经在许多研究中得到证实，但也有几项针对人类和非人类动物样本的研究表明，压力也能增强性反应。

Research on the effects of stress on sexual/reproductive function is contradictory. The dominant hypothesis states that stress is detrimental to sexual and reproductive function. Chronic stress can potentially impair sexual function in females because pregnancy is very costly in terms of energy, and because young are less likely to survive in a stressful environment. Chronic stress has also been shown to impair fertility in males, but it is unclear if it affects their sexual behavior. Physiologically, the acute stress response is designed to activate the energy resources necessary for survival and to suppress all unnecessary functions, including sexual function. While the negative effects of stress on sexual function have been demonstrated in many studies, there have also been several studies conducted with both human and non-human animal samples showing that stress can also enhance sexual response.