Premature ejaculation can occur due to many reasons, some of them are surprising and nothing to be afraid of. We listed five potential causes behind Premature ejaculation, and you’d be surprised.
- Insufficient serotonin levels in the Brain
Premature ejaculation occurs in a scenario where a man ejaculates sooner than he or his partner would like (worst case: within less than a minute of penetration), during sexual intercourse.
It is a common sexual inconvenience and happens to 1 out of 3 men, at some point in their life.
It isn’t a matter of grave concern as long as it doesn’t happen frequently. It often becomes a source of major embarrassment and disappointment for the man.
Even though the causes may vary from person to person, one of the reasons might be low levels of serotonin in the brain.
Serotonin is a hormone and a neurotransmitter that regulates the proper functioning of different organs in the body.
It is also known as the happy chemical, as it plays an important role in regulating the mood.
As per a study published in the National Library of Medicine, it has been observed through experimental evidence that serotonin (5-HT) plays an inhibitory role in ejaculation along brain descending pathways. So far, three subtypes of 5-HT receptors (5-HT1A, 5-HT1B, and 5-HT2C) have been suggested as potential mediators of 5-HT’s influence on ejaculation. In rats, pharmacologic interventions targeting the serotonergic system have been conducted, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), commonly used as antidepressants, have shown the highest effectiveness in delaying ejaculation.
According to a study, men who have a deficiency of serotonin in their brain, experience more frequent mood swings, stress, and have higher rates of depression, which in turn might cause premature ejaculation in men.
- Psychological Factors
Psychological factors can have a wide range. Psychological distress is known to affect sexual performance in more ways than just one.
Low-self esteem can be a reason. This might stem from an experience of such an instance in the past.
Men are shamed and made to feel miserable for a bad performance in bed, which affects their self-esteem negatively.
Often men have pre-performance anxiety, which tends to make them conscious during sexual intercourse, which might result in premature ejaculation.
Past sexual trauma and sexual abuse is often a major reason for premature ejaculation.
Past trauma gravely affects one’s sexual performance, because the mind keeps going back to the negatives of the experience.
Poor body image, lack of confidence often leads to premature ejaculation.
Depression can also be a reason.
AME Publishing Company website states that acquired premature ejaculation (PE) can be caused by psychological issues such as sexual performance anxiety, psychological problems, or relationship issues. Anxiety has long been considered a leading cause of PE in the field of sexual medicine, although there is limited empirical research supporting its causal role. It is important to note that anxiety and depression can also be effects of PE, and recent studies have confirmed a bidirectional relationship between anxiety, depression, and PE.
A lot of times if a man is not comfortable with his partner, during sexual intercourse, he might as well experience premature ejaculation. Other unresolved relationship issues with your partner can also be a cause.
- Withdrawal from Medication
Sometimes premature ejaculation can be a result of withdrawal from medication and drugs used to treat mental illness.
As mentioned in the previous part of the article, chronic depression does cause many sexual dysfunctions, one of them being premature ejaculation.
According to research done by the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Minnesota, withdrawal from Citalopram, an antidepressant drug, can lead to premature ejaculation.
Citalopram belongs to the group of drugs called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors( SSRIs). Sometimes, a wrong dosage can worsen mood swings, anxiety, and panic attacks, etc.
This may further increase the chances of premature ejaculation. The Effexor too has similar side effects. Loss of sexual desire as a result of withdrawal from such drugs results in premature ejaculation.
It is always recommended to consult your doctor before you stop taking a prescribed drug.
Sometimes even switching to other alternative antidepressants can also help deal with such symptoms. But everything must be done after your doctor’s approval.
- Problems in the Pelvic Region
According to research conducted in the early 1990s, the muscles that surround the erectile tissue around the penis and the pelvis muscles are in a hyperactive state when a man is faced with premature ejaculation.
Pelvic floor muscles support your structure keeping everything in place in your body.
These muscles add support to various other organs and help in bowel movement. Pelvic muscles include the bladder, the prostate, the rectum.
A pelvic floor dysfunction is a condition when one or more of your pelvic muscles are not working correctly.
Sometimes it leads to urinary tract infection or various prostate disease, and sometimes even premature ejaculation.
A pelvic floor dysfunction might be due to traumatic injuries, being overweight, advancing age, using the pelvic muscles too often and hence pressurizing, or any pelvic surgeries.
Pelvic dysfunction in men also leads to erectile dysfunction. Pelvic Dysfunction Therapy can be used to treat this problem and other sexual health problems.
- Over excitement
Sometimes even over-excitement can ruin the moment.
There have been many cases when a man is indulging in sexual intercourse after a long time and the excitement of which tends to make him nervous.
If he is having sex with a new partner for the first time, he might once again go through pre-performance anxiety. Overstimulation does result in premature ejaculation.
Excessive drug use can also affect the chemicals in the brain, in a negative manner which might lead to various other sexual health problems.
Even excessive alcohol consumption can lead to a loss of sexual appetite, and therefore premature ejaculation.
Sometimes the way a man has been conditioned in childhood and adolescence about sexual intercourse and other sexual activities also might affect his sexual performance.
For example, if he had to ejaculate quickly after masturbating, so as to not get caught, because of a strict upbringing.
Overexcitement can lead to premature ejaculation in multiple ways, as stated on the Family Doctor website. Firstly, it heightens arousal levels, triggering premature ejaculation reflex. Moreover, it diminishes control over sexual stimulation, making delay of ejaculation challenging. The presence of performance anxiety worsens the matter, as heightened arousal and anxiety often coexist. Additionally, overexcitement hampers awareness of the body’s signals and sensations, hindering recognition and control of sexual arousal stages.
If you face the problem of premature ejaculation more often than you should, it is best to consult with your doctor.
Bonus Tips Submitted By Viewers
- Masturbation
Masturbation is good when you want to relax but your partner is either unavailable or physically incapacitated to engage in sex. Still, in case you are sifting through relations, this time pass helps you to avoid the turmoil associated with sex with strangers.
Studies mention that most men masturbate using the same hand intensity and time. But you may learn to rush to orgasm. This could be a carryover as a boy, to avoid being caught.
In most cases, you masturbate using your hand as a physical stimulation. Sometimes though, you may self-indulge while including pornography materials or watching an X-rated movie.
In this situation, you are engaged in psychogenic stimulation in addition to reflex stimulation. Psychogenic means using both visual and mental sexual sources of stimulation to masturbate.
In this case, you reach orgasm much more quickly. If you are used to this overspeeding routine, you would rush over penetrative sex with the same zeal.
This is how premature ejaculation takes root.
- Diets
Some meals may worsen your premature ejaculation situation. They include sugary foods and oily and processed diets.
Taking sweetened diet results in elevated sugar content in your system. They are difficult to digest and since you only use a portion of them to make energy, the rest are deposited along the veins.
The deposits cause lumps and clog the blood vessels. Still, they irritate certain hormones causing inflammation and sluggish blood flow.
Excessive sugar and starch hamper efficient blood circulation. Yet erection requires blood to flow quickly and stay around the groin.
Similarly, spices are great for food flavor. But some spices are hard to digest and leave the liver overworking. This means that this organ is unable to eliminate all the toxins from the system.
Lastly, highly processed food is also bad concerning premature ejaculation. They have much refinement that sieves vital organic ingredients like fiber and roughages out of the equation.
These foods thus accelerate premature ejaculation.
