How to Last Longer in Bed: 9 Stamina-Building Methods (2026)

Written by the Dynamo Delay Team · Last Updated: February 2026

"How do I last longer in bed?" is the most common sexual performance question men type into Google. The answers range from genuinely useful to dangerously wrong.

What follows is what actually works, based on published clinical research and real-world outcomes. No filler, no pseudoscience.

First: What's "Normal"?

Before trying to optimize, it helps to know the baseline. A multinational study by Waldinger et al. (2005) measured intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) across 500 couples from five countries:

• Median IELT: 5.4 minutes
• Range: 0.55 to 44.1 minutes
• Most men: 3–7 minutes

If you're lasting 3–7 minutes of penetrative sex, you're statistically normal. If you want to last longer than that, or if you're consistently under 2 minutes, the methods below address both scenarios.

Worth noting: "lasting longer" isn't just about penetration time. It's about feeling in control. Men who report high sexual satisfaction aren't necessarily the ones who last longest. They're the ones who feel they can choose when to finish.

Method 1: Pelvic Floor Training (Kegel Exercises)

The pelvic floor muscles, specifically the bulbocavernosus and ischiocavernosus, play a direct role in ejaculation. Strengthening them gives you voluntary control over the ejaculatory reflex. Same principle as strengthening your core for better balance.

Pastore et al. (2014) published a clinical study of pelvic floor rehabilitation for PE: after 12 weeks of daily exercises, 82.5% of participants gained ejaculatory control. Mean IELT increased from 39.8 seconds to 146.2 seconds, a 3.7x improvement.

How to do it:

1. Find the muscles. Mid-stream, try to stop your urine flow. The muscles you clench are your pelvic floor muscles. Use this only to identify them. Don't make it a habit.
2. Contract and hold for 5 seconds, then relax for 5 seconds. Repeat 10 times.
3. Work toward 3 sets of 10 reps daily. Over weeks, extend the hold time to 10 seconds.
4. Add quick-fire reps: 10 rapid squeeze-and-release contractions in a row. This trains the fast-twitch muscle fibers used during ejaculation.

Most men start noticing improved control around weeks 4–6. Full results come by week 12. Consistency matters more than intensity. Five minutes daily outperforms 30 minutes twice a week. For a deeper dive into pelvic floor training and other non-pharmaceutical approaches, see our natural methods guide.

Method 2: Topical Delay Sprays

If pelvic floor training is the long game, delay sprays are the short game. They work on the first use.

Delay sprays contain topical anesthetics, usually lidocaine or benzocaine, that reduce penile hypersensitivity by selectively blocking the nerve signals responsible for the hair-trigger ejaculatory reflex. The largest clinical trial (Dinsmore & Wyllie, 2009) showed a 6.3x increase in ejaculatory latency with improved sexual satisfaction for both partners.

Proper technique: apply 2–3 sprays to the glans and frenulum, wait 7–10 minutes for absorption, wipe excess, proceed. Start with fewer sprays and adjust upward over 2–3 sessions to find your ideal dose without losing pleasure.

Products differ in concentration and quality. Dynamo Delay uses 13% lidocaine USP (the highest OTC concentration available) in a metered-dose spray for precise application.

Method 3: The Start-Stop Technique

Originally described by Semans in 1956, the start-stop method trains your brain to recognize and manage rising arousal before it crosses the point of no return.

During sex or masturbation:

1. Stimulate until you feel moderate arousal, about 7 on a 0–10 scale.
2. Stop all stimulation. Stay still. Breathe.
3. Wait for arousal to drop back to 4–5.
4. Resume. Repeat 3–4 times before allowing ejaculation.

This builds what sex therapists call "arousal tolerance." Your nervous system learns to sustain higher arousal levels without reflexively triggering the ejaculatory reflex. La Pera and Nicastro (1996) found that behavioral techniques like start-stop produced lasting improvement in 64% of men who practiced consistently for 3+ months.

Pair it with diaphragmatic breathing during the pause. The breathing accelerates the arousal drop and reinforces the parasympathetic nervous system activation that inhibits ejaculation.

Method 4: Cardiovascular Exercise

Underrated. Regular cardiovascular exercise improves sexual stamina through multiple mechanisms:

• Better blood flow means stronger, more sustainable erections
• Improved autonomic regulation: regular aerobic exercise enhances parasympathetic tone, the nervous system state associated with ejaculatory control
• Exercise is a clinically proven anxiolytic. Less baseline anxiety means less performance anxiety.
• Regular exercise modulates serotonin and dopamine pathways that affect ejaculatory timing

A 2019 meta-analysis by Gerbild et al. in Sexual Medicine found that men who engaged in moderate aerobic exercise (150 minutes/week) reported significantly better sexual function, including ejaculatory control, compared to sedentary men.

You don't need to train like an athlete. Three to four sessions of 30–45 minutes at moderate intensity (brisk walking, jogging, cycling, swimming) is enough. The effects build over 4–8 weeks.

Method 5: Controlled Breathing

Fast, shallow breathing activates the sympathetic nervous system, which drives ejaculation. Slow, deep breathing activates the parasympathetic system, which inhibits it. The autonomic nervous system directly controls the ejaculatory reflex, and you can influence which branch dominates through deliberate breathing.

The 4-2-6 pattern:

• Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds, into your belly, not your chest
• Hold for 2 seconds
• Exhale through your mouth for 6 seconds

Practice this daily for 5 minutes wherever you are. When it becomes automatic, integrate it during sex. The extended exhale triggers the vagus nerve, which directly activates the parasympathetic "brake pedal" on arousal.

Method 6: Strategic Position Changes

Different sexual positions create different levels of penile stimulation, muscular tension, and arousal intensity.

• Lower stimulation positions: woman on top (you control less of the movement), side-by-side (slower, less deep penetration), spooning (controlled depth and pace)
• Higher stimulation positions: missionary (deep penetration, high friction), doggy style (intense stimulation, visual arousal), standing (muscular tension increases arousal)

The tactical approach: start with lower-stimulation positions to build duration, then transition to higher-stimulation positions when you've warmed up and established control. Changing positions also creates natural pauses in stimulation, giving your arousal time to plateau instead of escalating continuously.

Method 7: Reduce Alcohol and Optimize Sleep

Two lifestyle factors men routinely overlook:

Alcohol. Small amounts (1–2 drinks) can reduce anxiety and mildly improve stamina for some men. Beyond that, alcohol impairs both ejaculatory control and erectile function. A 2021 study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine found that men who regularly consumed more than 3 drinks before sex had significantly worse ejaculatory control than moderate drinkers or non-drinkers.

Sleep. Sleep deprivation increases cortisol, reduces testosterone, and impairs the serotonin pathways that regulate ejaculation. Men running on 5 hours of sleep have measurably worse sexual function than those sleeping 7–8 hours. Not glamorous advice, but evidence-backed.

Method 8: Nutrition for Sexual Stamina

What you eat affects blood flow, hormone levels, and nervous system function, all of which impact stamina.

• Zinc (oysters, beef, pumpkin seeds) supports testosterone production and prostate health
• L-arginine (turkey, soybeans, peanuts) is a precursor to nitric oxide, which drives blood flow to the penis
• Omega-3 fatty acids (salmon, mackerel, walnuts) reduce inflammation and improve vascular function
• Magnesium (dark chocolate, spinach, almonds) supports muscle relaxation and nervous system regulation

The full nutritional breakdown with specific food recommendations and the evidence behind each nutrient is in our guide to foods for sexual stamina.

Method 9: Partner Communication and Teamwork

Consistently undervalued in "how to last longer" content because it's not a technique. It's a framework. But the evidence is clear: couples who communicate about sexual timing report better outcomes than men who try to solve PE alone (Rowland et al., 2007).

What this looks like in practice:

• Discussing what "good sex" means to both of you (often it's not "lasting as long as possible")
• Agreeing on signals, verbal or non-verbal, that you need to pause or switch positions
• Incorporating extended foreplay, oral sex, and manual stimulation so that intercourse duration becomes less critical
• Making it a shared project rather than your personal failure

Many couples find that once they start talking openly about timing, the pressure drops dramatically. And the pressure drop itself often extends duration. Performance anxiety is one of the leading drivers of PE, and it thrives on silence.

Putting It All Together

Timeline	Method	Expected Impact
Tonight	Delay spray + breathing technique + position strategy	2–6x improvement in IELT
Week 1–4	Add pelvic floor exercises + start-stop practice	Noticeable improvement in control
Week 4–8	Add cardiovascular exercise routine + dietary changes	Improved baseline stamina
Week 8–12	Full program: all methods layered together	Sustained control, potential to reduce spray use

You don't need to do everything at once. Start with the methods that give immediate results (spray + breathing), then layer in the methods that build lasting change (exercises + lifestyle). The combination outperforms any single method.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the fastest way to last longer in bed?

A topical delay spray provides the fastest improvement — working on the first use. Clinical trials show lidocaine-based sprays increase ejaculatory latency by 2.5–6.3x immediately. Apply 2–3 sprays, wait 7–10 minutes, and go. For same-night results, combine the spray with controlled breathing and a lower-stimulation starting position.

How long should a man last during sex?

The median duration of penetrative sex is 5.4 minutes according to a multinational study (Waldinger et al., 2005). Most men fall between 3–7 minutes. There's no universal "should" — what matters is whether both you and your partner are satisfied with the experience. If you're consistently under 1–2 minutes and it's causing distress, that meets the clinical threshold for premature ejaculation.

Can exercise help you last longer?

Yes — two types of exercise specifically help. Pelvic floor exercises (Kegels) strengthen the muscles that control ejaculation, with studies showing 82.5% of men gaining control after 12 weeks. Cardiovascular exercise improves blood flow, reduces anxiety, and enhances autonomic nervous system regulation — all of which support ejaculatory control.

Do delay sprays help with stamina?

Yes. Delay sprays reduce the penile nerve hypersensitivity that causes rapid ejaculation. They're the only method on this list that works immediately. The best approach is using a spray for instant results while building long-term stamina through pelvic floor training, behavioral techniques, and lifestyle changes.

How long does it take to improve sexual stamina?

It depends on the method. Delay sprays work on the first use. Breathing techniques show results in 1–2 weeks. Pelvic floor exercises take 4–12 weeks. Cardiovascular fitness improvements appear in 4–8 weeks. The fastest path is combining an immediate tool (delay spray) with longer-term training methods — you get results now while building permanent improvements.

Sources

1. Waldinger MD, Quinn P, Dilleen M, et al. "A Multinational Population Survey of Intravaginal Ejaculation Latency Time." Journal of Sexual Medicine. 2005;2(4):492-497.
2. Pastore AL, Palleschi G, Fuschi A, et al. "Pelvic Floor Muscle Rehabilitation for Patients with Lifelong Premature Ejaculation." Therapeutic Advances in Urology. 2014;6(3):83-88.
3. Dinsmore WW, Wyllie MG. "PSD502 Improves Ejaculatory Latency, Control and Sexual Satisfaction." BJU International. 2009;103(7):940-949.
4. La Pera G, Nicastro A. "A New Treatment for Premature Ejaculation: The Rehabilitation of the Pelvic Floor." Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy. 1996;22(1):22-26.
5. Gerbild H, et al. "Physical Activity to Improve Erectile Function: A Systematic Review." Sexual Medicine. 2019;6(2):75-89.
6. Rowland DL, et al. "The Role of Relationship Factors and Partner Communication in PE." Journal of Sexual Medicine. 2007;4(6):1704-1713.
7. Semans JH. "Premature Ejaculation: A New Approach." Southern Medical Journal. 1956;49(4):353-358.

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Consult a qualified healthcare provider for personalized guidance.