If you are one of the many millions of guys who suffer from nocturnal penile tumescence (or "Morning Wood"), read on.
Getting hard in the morning is never ideal, and can sometimes ruin sleep patterns. It's also stressful for guys' partners, who may feel that they've done something wrong. This article explains what Morning Wood is all about.
You might automatically think that Morning Wood is just a product of sexual fantasies being played out in dreams.
But here's the weird thing: scientists have found that the penis isn't under the brain's direct control when we enter REM sleep. Other influences take over, possibly returning to a primal state where guys are primed for sex. All too often, the result is an erection.
This theory is backed up by studies of sexual hormones. During the day, men wouldn't get far if they were constantly experiencing erections. So the body has evolved a response: to release a hormone called noradrenaline which suppresses erections.
But here's the catch: noradrenaline production dips at night, sometimes leading to uncontrolled tumescence.
When you experience early morning erections, don't worry. Medical experts stress that Morning Wood is something that healthy men just well, do. Moreover, many physicians actually see it as a sign that guys are fit, both physically and sexually. So, if you aren't experiencing unquenchable horniness at 6 am, there's more (but still not much) cause for concern.
OK. So Morning Wood could be a danger sign, but more in psychological than physical terms. If you struggle to raise an erection in the evening when you and your partner are getting intimate, but can't help waking up hard as a rock, there could be underlying psychological problems inhibiting your regular sexual performance.
If you're the kind of guy who loves regular NSA sex, Morning Wood could be the secret to your sexual stamina, and here's why: It looks like our bodies use sleep as a way to restore its tissues and processes. The penis is no exception. It needs to be used regularly to keep it in good working order, and the body instinctively does so. It's just that sometimes, you wake up in the middle of a workout.
So, Morning Wood helps to keep us horny and capable, but here's the weirdest thing: it could also be a way of extending your penis length. That's because regular erections raise blood flow to the soft muscles of the penis, keeping them stretched - which in turn has the effect of "lengthening" your penis.
RELATED: 14 Natural Ways to Prolong Your Erections
When we sleep, we are still highly sensitive to whatever is around us. Our nerves don't switch off just because our bodies are resting. And we toss and turn as well. This can bring your penis into contact with all kinds of things, and not just your partner. In our dreamy states of mind, this contact can lead to arousal by accident - so there's not necessarily any link to sexual fantasies being acted out.
While we notice Morning Wood because it happens when we wake up, sleep studies have found something really interesting: during their sleep periods, men experience from three to five erections every night (on average), which backs up the idea about nocturnal erections being a subconscious form of penis exercise. You might not like the idea, but at night, your little guy has a varied and exciting routine. You're asleep, even if he isn't.
Most people tend to think that Morning Wood is confined to guys, but here's the thing: women also used night-time as a chance to work out their sexual muscles. In the case of women, the clitoris spontaneously stimulates itself regularly, having the same kind of restorative effect on her crucial sexual muscle.
It's long been thought that there is a connection between needing to pee and experiencing Morning Wood, and the truth is that there's probably a link. The pressure from a full bladder can influence the urethra, leading to penile stimulation. It may not be the sole cause of Morning Wood, but it's often a factor.
So that's that. Who knew that Morning Wood was so medically complex? Sex is complicated and still mysterious, but we can still bust some horny myths. There's no need to worry about Morning Wood, but plenty to learn about it.