Smoking is the smoking of an electronic cigarette. It has become increasingly popular in recent years as an alternative to smoking cigarettes. But more recently, concerns have grown about the health risks it carries. Among these, vaping’s link with ED is in the spotlight. Erectile dysfunction is a fairly prevalent disease among men of all ages, and can degrade quality of life. There’s little study out there about vaping and erectile dysfunction, and I’m looking forward to reading them and to learning more about how that could possibly work.
In order to calculate how long an erect penis takes, you must first grasp the act of erection. An erection happens when blood vessels in the penis contract, forcing the blood to seep into spongy tissue known as the corpora cavernosa. When the tissue becomes thick with blood, the penis stiffens and swells. This is controlled by the autonomic nervous system and can be triggered by different physiological and psychological mechanisms.
Age is one of the biggest influences on how long an erection lasts. Young men generally have stronger and longer-lasting erections than old men. That’s because men get older and the testosterone in their bodies lowers, which impacts their sexual function. Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone that controls sexual desire and erectile function. Thus, older men can have shorter and weaker erections with reduced duration.
Physical condition is another factor that influences the time it takes for an erection to develop. For men with chronic medical conditions like diabetes, heart disease, or hypertension, erections can be difficult to obtain or maintain. These disorders may cause damage to blood vessels and nerves which make up an erection and produce smaller, weaker erections. Furthermore, medications prescribed for these conditions — including antidepressants and blood pressure pills — can also influence how long an erection lasts.
Emotional and psychological factors also influence the duration of an erection. Stress, anxiety and depression all affect the way a man will produce and keep an erection. Performance anxiety, in particular, makes keeping an erection going for long periods hard. This can turn into a revolving door where the threat of an erection vanishing creates anxiety, makes an erection difficult to maintain and ultimately shortens an erection duration.
Stress and Erectile Dysfunction
Stress, which is a constant and often inevitable reality of contemporary life, can undermine sex function, especially when it comes to erectile time. In the body’s response to stress, for example, the production of cortisol and adrenaline fuels a fight-or-flight response that puts survival over other activities, including sexuality. As a result, chronic stress results in loss of libido, arousal and erectile function. Second, stress-induced sympathetic nervous system stimulation can depress the vasodilatory response that enables penile engorgement, contributing to ED.
Anxiety and Erectile Dysfunction
Anxiety, an emotional condition involving concern, fear and tension, is known to be extremely damaging to sexual performance and erectile time. Performance anxiety, which occurs in anticipation of or while having sex, can be particularly debilitating. Performative men worry too much about their sexual performance, resulting in self-doubt, self-judgment and fear of failure. In turn, these negative feelings can initiate a series of physiological changes – including increased sympathetic nervous system activity, heart rate and blood pressure – that can slow down erectile function and decrease the length of an erection.
Depression and Erectile Dysfunction
Depression, an extreme and chronic mood condition, can also trigger ED and shorten erectile time. The neurobiology of depression stems from a dysregulation of monoaminergic neurotransmitters such as serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine, which control sex-awakening and erectile function. Moreover, depression’s psychosocial impact, including self-abnegation, anhedonia and fatigue, can reinforce ED by decreasing confidence, decreasing motivation and degrading relationships.
The Awful Triangle of Performance Anxiety and Erection Problems
Performance anxiety and ED can be an unidirectional relationship, in which the fear of missing an erection generates anxiety, reduces erectile function and ultimately causes a reduced length of an erection. Such an interdependent dynamic can lead to feelings of powerlessness, anger and despair that feed the rut and undermine sexual fulfilment. Men who suffer from performance anxiety might also shy away from sex or seek too much comfort, which in turn strains relationships and increases ED.
It’s not even the penis size that influences the duration of an erection. The common misconception is that larger men have longer penises and thus remain standing for longer. But the size of the penis has nothing to do with how long an erection lasts. It is the shape of the erection that counts and not the volume of the penis.
How long an erection usually takes varies from person to individual. On average, an erection can last between a few minutes and several hours. Likewise, the duration of an erection depends on the amount of sexual stimulation. A high-result man’s erection may last longer than one where there is less sexual stimulation.
Conclusion:
To sum it up, while there’s limited research regarding the potential link between vaping and ED, there’s no doubt that vaping can harm sexual health. The chemicals in the e-liquid, mainly nicotine, have been found to adversely affect blood vessels and testosterone levels that are essential for erectile function. While more research would allow us to grasp the scope of this relationship more fully, vapers still need to be aware of the risk and make necessary efforts to quit or reduce their e-cigarette consumption. Practitioners should also be educated on the potential sexual health impacts of vaping, and discuss this with patients.
