SLEEP ERECTIONS
So far we’ve talked about erections which result from arousal when a man is conscious of the sensations and the pleasure. But there’s another type of erection which has important implications for the diagnosis and treatment of erection problems. Researchers have found that men get erections about five to six times a night during sleep, with each episode lasting as long as 25 minutes. These nocturnal events take place when a man is dreaming, but not necessarily because the man is enjoying some particularly arousing X-rated scenarios. In fact, his dreams may have no erotic content at all. So far, scientists can’t explain just why men get erections at night, but some think it’s the body’s way of exercising the erection process.
Waking up with an erection is usually due to waking up in the middle of the dream. Normal sleep erections show that a man’s physical systems are functioning normally. If a man does not get nocturnal erections, his erection problems are probably caused by some physical condition. (Rarely, it can mean that he is not sleeping normally.) If he does get sleep erections but, when awake, cannot be aroused, psychological factors, possibly triggering spasms in the blood vessels supplying the penis, are probably at work. Simple home tests can help determine if a man has sleep erections, and more sophisticated tests are available at sleep laboratories and medical centers.
You don’t need to remember all these fine points of the erection process. And you certainly don’t want to think of them when you’re making love. But understanding the basics of this process can help you avoid sabotaging yourself—and your partner.
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