Most men from age 40 to 70 are affected by erectile dysfunction, and it is becoming more common than usual. We listed five surprising reasons behind erectile dysfunction, and you’d be surprised.
It is easy not to worry, or even think about erectile dysfunction when you are capable of enjoying beautiful sex.
Young men especially, hardly ever think that they can deal with ED at some point in their lives.
Impotence is always wrongly associated with old age, and this explains why the majority of them are usually surprised when it happens.
In fact, the lifestyle of young people nowadays could pose a lot more danger for contracting ED earlier in life.
Unhealthy habits such as poor nutrition, eating too much junk food, and lack of exercise could potentially lead to ED in even young people.
Usually, when this happens to them it comes as a shock and the young man will feel something is wrong with them.
Most of them even have a hard time seeking help due to the magnitude with which this reality hits them.
Among the easiest ways of handling erectile dysfunction is gaining an understanding of the things that cause them, and consequently, look for a way to avoid them – if possible.
Forget about the usual culprits that you might already have heard about.
Here, we look deep into the things you never thought was capable of causing ED. They include:
Your partner spending more time with your friends
Psychological factors have the capacity to impact your erectile function.
A study conducted by staff of Live Science, and also published in the American Journal of Science, revealed a surprising cause of erectile dysfunction.
Apparently, when your wife or partner spends more time with your friends, than she does with you, you have a chance of suffering from erectile dysfunction.
The research study involving 3000 men aged between 57 and 85 years, showed that a man whose wife or female partner was uncomfortably close to his buddies has a 92 percent more chance of experiencing difficulties in obtaining and maintaining an erection, compared to a man whose partner does not engage in this kind of behavior.
It is suggested that the psychological impact comes from the men themselves being too worried about things that have yet to be proven.
Also, this kind of behavior tends to make the men unconsciously compare themselves to the friends of their wives?.
As we know, when women compare themselves to other men, they tend to drown in excessive worry and can struggle with self-esteem.
This kind of mindset then typically lowers the men’s libido, making having an erection more challenging than usual.
The good news is if the cause of ED is more on this psychological level, marriage consultation or simply having a conversation with the spouse can usually solve the problem.
Too much, or too rough masturbation
Men are usually urged to engage in masturbation as it is a healthy way of exercising the penis. However, too much of it is dangerous.
You will begin to notice weaker erections, besides having difficulties with orgasm.
If you have been masturbating more regularly than you should, consider stopping for a while.
Excessive porn
Pornography is among the leading causes of insecurity witnessed in men when it comes to the size of their penises.
Some of the men who are pursuing penis enlargement will tell you that the primary reason they are doing so is to match up with their favorite porn stars.
The majority of porn viewership fail to notice that, most of the time; the penises they see on those video clips are not exactly like that in real life.
The final product is characterized by endless camera tricks aimed at making the penis appear bigger than it is.
By consistently comparing your dick with that of porn stars, insecurity creeps in, and before you know it, you are struggling with erectile dysfunction.
According to a recent study presented on July 16, 2020, at the European Association of Urology (EAU) Virtual Congress, excessive consumption of pornography has been associated with an elevated occurrence of erectile dysfunction (ED). This finding, as reported by Everyday Health, highlights the potential negative impact of excessive pornography watching on sexual health.
Although watching porn occasionally is not dangerous, it is incredibly important to have a realistic outlook on life, as well as be educated enough to know that many things that ever appear in entertainment are not as shiny as they are made to appear.
If you can be satisfied with yourself, your increased self-esteem will naturally make you perform better in bed.
Stress
Our lives are complex and most of the times; we have something at the back of our minds that is nagging us. Stress factors may originate from the workplace, social circles, and even family.
Unfortunately, it has the potential to impact your erectile function negatively. As such, men suffering from excessive stress that they cannot control their need to find professional help.
Hims & Hers Health, Inc. highlights that research indicates how common life stressors can contribute to anxiety and subsequently lead to erectile dysfunction (ED). This can initiate a detrimental cycle where stress triggers ED, which in turn fuels self-consciousness and exacerbates stress levels. This interplay creates a vicious cycle between sexual performance and stress, amplifying the impact of both factors on overall well-being.
The thing is that when you are under a lot of stress, your body also starts to produce a lot more stress hormones that can hamper the production of sex hormones that lead to a healthy level of libido.
Not only that, a stressed-out body typically restrains the flow of blood to the pelvic area. It’s only understandable that ED may result from excessive stress.
Gum disease
You must already be wondering; what the heck does gum disease have to do with my erectile function?
If you have gum disease, it is an indication that you are not eating a good diet, and that your health is poor.
It suggests a poor flow of blood inside and around your gums. You must already know that the process of obtaining an erection is heavily tied to blood circulation.
A report from the Center for Female and Male Sexual Medicine reveals that men with gum disease, also known as periodontal disease, are at a higher risk of experiencing erectile dysfunction (ED) compared to those without this condition. The link between gum disease and ED was further explored in a comprehensive review published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine in 2019. This review analyzed five medical studies involving a total of over 210,000 participants, providing additional evidence to support the association between gum disease and the occurrence of ED.
If you look at the situation from this perspective, you will see the connection between gum disease and your erectile dysfunction.
In conclusion, we discussed five surprising causes behind erectile dysfunction that men can identify quickly. We have provided enough details regarding the causes of ED, and now it is up to you to manage the issue effectively.
Bonus Tips Submitted By Viewers
- Inactivity
Vigorous training is vital for optimum organ function. Hence if you lead a sedentary life, you would start experiencing erectile dysfunction.
Being a couch potato slackens your nerves and slows down your metabolism. The poor metabolic rate could cause excessive stashing of food along the blood vessels.
As there is no need for energy expenditure, your cells become lethargic, abdicating their key functions of transporting blood and nutrients.
The slow flow of blood impacts your heart. In addition, your organs also perform poorly.
These combinations offer the perfect recipe for erectile dysfunction. This situation has been studied, and its findings published in the American Journal of Medicine.
The research concludes that being inactive is an independent risk factor for the development of erectile dysfunction. Being lazy leads to the thinning of the penile vessels.
This prevents sufficient blood to flow to the penis, resulting in an inadequate or short-lived erection. As a result, erectile dysfunction occurs.
- Obstructive sleep disorder
This is a breathing restriction that happens when you sleep. It’s characterized by frequent stoppage of breathing for a considerable duration during slumber.
This air restriction could cause huge problems. One of the common issues arising from this condition is waking up in distress, seeking and gasping for air, since your vitals are too low on oxygen.
When you fall asleep again, you suffer the same situation, causing consistent interference in both the sleeping and breathing pattern.
This may happen several tens or even a hundred times. The incessant blood supply disruption is credited with causing erectile dysfunction.
Sleep apnea triggers hypogonadism, a situation that prevents the testes from producing sufficient male sex hormones. Testosterone production is also stymied in the same fashion.
The stunted secretion of these hormones also contributes to the propagation of other chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, obesity, and poor metabolism.
All these work together to accelerate the onset of erectile dysfunction.
