Most men are irritated with their morning wood, but it is something that they cannot control. But that does not mean that it indicates sexual stimulation. Here are five causes behind morning erections.
- Muscular function
Many muscles work to create an erection. But sacral nerve is the vein that directly responsible for erection.
It forms an essential component of the parasympathetic nerves. Parasympathetic nerves are the survival responders. As such, they trigger a “fight” or “flight” decision.
And part of a natural survival process is procreation. Sacral veins work to ensure that your penis is up to its task. It does this by causing frequent erection at night.
Night erection is medically called the Nocturnal Penile Tumescence process. But why is this penis function-check mechanism essential? It’s a determinant of proper-functioning sex organs.
The penis nerves are the smallest. Thus they record all the minute functions. These nerves should work well. Otherwise, they point towards severe neurological and psychological complications.
To sum it up, the muscles tests your body function. This process creates an NPT. You only note it when you wake up in the morning.
- Full bladder
When you sleep, the regular digestive system works better. After all, most body functions are in a shutdown. Hence the digestion system gets more attention.
Likewise, your bladder also fills up with urine. This excretion comes from your digestive process. And as the night continues, it fills up.
Your prostate gland and muscle are triggers by a full bladder. This trigger mechanism reminds you to offload your overflowing bladder.
But it has another purpose. The prostate is highly sensitive to stimulation. Besides, it’s a pleasure point. And when you lay down, its sensitivity increases.
Thus during the night, when the bloated bladder fiddle onto your prostate, it creates some form of sensation. As the bladder continues to rub along the prostate as it fills up the responsiveness increases.
This process causes much stimulation. And the more the stimulus, the greater the erection. Hence a full bladder is partly responsible for causing nocturnal erections.
- REM deep slumber
There are five different stages of sleep. During each phase, your breathing, heartbeat, muscular action, and brain activities changes.
Four of these stages are the non-Rapid Eye Movement. But it’s the REM cycle that is crucial to your nocturnal erection. It’s now that your reproductive system sharpens.
During this phase, your body manufacture testosterone boosts sperm secretion and repair tissues. You arrive at this stage after about two hours after sleeping.
As all these development occur, your penis also erects. The brain sends pulses down your spine to the penis. This results in a series of erections lasting about twenty to thirty minutes.
A scientific study was undertaken in 1965 to debunk this myth. It found that there is a close correlation between the REM sleep pattern and these erections.
Most healthy men can experience about six erections during an eight-hour sleep. However, the study didn’t establish why arousals occur at this REM sleep phase.
According to information on the London Andrology website, men may experience spikes in hormones during REM sleep, which can serve as a trigger for nocturnal erections. The occurrence of these erections is influenced by the interplay between the parasympathetic nervous system, the male reproductive system, and REM sleep. However, it’s important to note that not all men experience regular morning erections.
- Neurological stimuli
But then, other studies suspect many related factors culminating into arousal. When you are asleep, your brain is relaxed. Further, it encounters neither worries nor competing functions.
Also, your central nervous system is underutilized. Meanwhile, your brain functions slow down. With this slowdown in mental activity, the secretion of norepinephrine even dwindles.
Yet this chemical is vital in regulating penis nerves. So, when its production reduces, more blood flows to your spongy chambers. Thus arousal takes place unhindered.
At the same time, your brain could replay sexy scenes. The mental recall of any sexual stimuli results in an erection. Hence sleep induces dreams that trigger erections during the night.
Sleep is also responsible for the release of dopamine. These are the feel-good hormones. These hormones work in various ways to calm your body. One way is through sexual stimulation.
The sex arousing chemical soothes your body. But it also triggers erection as a result.
According to an article on the Verywell Health website, the nervous system is essential for maintaining bodily functions during sleep. The sacral nerve is specifically responsible for causing erections during sleep or semi-conscious states. It is interesting to note that the stimulation of this nerve due to a full bladder can actually trigger an erection.
- Sexual stimulation
Other reasons why you experience the nocturnal penile tumescence are straightforward. When you are sleeping next to your partner, your bodies encounter several triggers.
There could be physical contact during sleep. A hand may splay your penis unintentionally.
Besides, a careless leg may find itself on your loins. Although you are deep asleep, the warmth and close contacts could result in an erection.
A mental process may also cause an erection. Your brain tends to pack and save vital information for future recollection. And if you spend much time your partner, these scenes could linger in your mind for long.
Thus during sleep, your subconscious brain thinks and imagines these erotic events. The replays lead to arousal.
Besides physical and mental factors, visualizing and fantasy can create a firm erection.
Even though you may be sleeping, your mind doesn’t stop working. Hence it could visual many sexual stimuli that end up in an erection.
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- Testosterone boost
The key male sex hormone is produced during the night. And this is also when your system does all the cell repair work.
Further, it reboots the small veins leading to your penis and heart. Ideally, it concentrates on these chores since other demanding body functions are either at a standstill or operating sub-optimally.
Studies show that your key male hormone is at its peak in the morning, usually between 4 am to 3 am. As your T cells surge, there’s no doubt that you will feel the effect. The most obvious is an erection.
Heightened testosterone levels trigger an erection, even in the absence of any other physical stimulation. Thus you would note that you wake up with an erect penis from time to time.
Upon emerging from the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep stage in the morning, your testosterone level reaches its zenith, creating a hormonal surge. Interestingly, Healthline points out that this surge alone can trigger an erection. The elevated testosterone levels experienced upon waking likely play a crucial role in the occurrence of morning erections, emphasizing the significant hormonal impact on this innate phenomenon.
This penile rigidity subdues as testosterone gets allocated to other functions and the free particles get absorbed by other binders.
Hence a spike in T cells causes the morning wood.
- Parasympathetic nerve action
Sometimes you get erect as a result of your nerve action. Even when you are deeply asleep, your mind still responds to stimuli.
For an erection to occur, there is usually a trigger. And these triggers are everywhere, soothing your veins to dilate and form an erection.
This sensation is more pronounced when you sleep. During deep sleep, your breathing slows and your heart rate also reduces.
The nerve relaxation and lowered heart rates set a perfect scenario for the erection to happen.
Sleeping next to your spouse may arouse you involuntarily. The smell, taste, and feel of something sexually attractive could bring a surge of blood rush to your penis.
Thus the satin smell of your partner’s cloth or the warmth may release neurotransmitters, which causes penis veins to dilate and allow more blood inflow. The process may also restrict blood outflow from the penis.
In this situation, your penis engorges, causing nocturnal penile tumescence.
