The lack of a morning erection isn't necessarily a concern. Sometimes, men wake up at different points in a sleep cycle, when an erection isn't occurring. Still, morning erections might provide some clues about penile health and erectile dysfunction (ED). Typically, men have several erections while they sleep.
Men are supposed to wake up with an erection every morning. Seriously, if you're in “good health,” your body is hard-wired for “morning wood.” If you don't regularly wake up with that familiar morning erection, it could indicate that your testosterone levels, blood flow, or something more serious is off.
The lack of morning wood may mean nothing, but it could be a sign of erectile dysfunction if your case is due to physiological issues, such as nerve or blood vessel problems. Be sure to speak with your healthcare provider if you aren't having morning erections so they can run diagnostic tests.
Being able to get a morning erection is a helpful indicator that your heart, blood vessels and nervous system are functioning properly. On the other hand, the absence of morning wood can potentially be a sign that you're starting to develop a sexual health issue, such as erectile dysfunction (ED).
People with penises have an average of 11 erections per day and three to five more each night, but everyone is different. There are numerous factors that can affect how often you get hard, like your age, hormone levels, and lifestyle.
Lifestyle changes such as diet, exercise, sleep, stress, and weight loss can improve ED and help you get a morning hard-on again. Your doctor or pharmacist may prescribe ED medication to help get an erection that is firm enough for sex.
A man reaches peak sexual maturity from their teens to late 30s. This is when they get the most morning erections. In their 40s and 50s, morning erections decline in frequency. However, if a person stops getting morning wood abruptly, it's possible that there's an underlying health issue involved.
Typically, an average erection may last from a few minutes to roughly half an hour. However, this can vary significantly due to the many factors that can affect erection duration. It is also worth noting that a person does not need an erection to achieve orgasm.
Your testosterone level is at its highest in the morning after you wake up. It is highest immediately after waking up from the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep stage. The increase in this hormone alone may be enough to cause an erection, even in the absence of any physical stimulation.
Since there are several sleep cycles per night, men can have as many as five erections per night and these can last up to 20 or 30 minutes. But this is very dependent on sleep quality and so they may not occur daily.
Like many health issues, ED becomes much more common with age. However, with a proactive approach, it's possible to maintain good sexual health and erections well into your 60s, 70s and beyond.
ED is frequently found in the elderly because it is associated with the same underlying risk factors as vascular disease and includes hypertension, diabetes mellitus (DM), hyperlipidemia, smoking, and obesity which are common during aging.
Healthy lifestyle habits can help your erections feel healthier and last longer. Eating well, exercising, abstaining from smoking or drinking alcohol, getting enough sleep, communicating with your partner, and reducing stress can all play a role in improving your sexual responsiveness.