The erection
How does it work?
Contrary to popular belief, even in men everything starts from the brain! As a result of sexual arousal, the brain transmits signals of sexual stimulation to the penis (passing through the spinal cord and nerves). The penis fills with blood and the contractions of the muscles of the lower part and perineum do the rest. The penis , then, it hardens and the erection begins. But be careful: usually, the signals coming from the same area of the brain are castrating. The poor penis has only one solution: go back to its place ...
Out of the ordinary erections
See also
Squirting: what female ejaculation is and how it works
Sometimes, the penis "indulges" and, before taking action, does not inform the cerebral cortex. A caress, an exciting image, and here some stimulus signals are transmitted directly to the nervous circuit of the spinal cord. For quadriplegic people, these moments are precious, because they allow you to have "conditioned" erections (although not having, however, the sensations of a man in full health).
Attention, some erections are independent of sexual arousal, then we speak of priapism. They are caused by neurological disorders or certain diseases. The blood stagnates in the penis and can cause very painful erections. There is only one solution: if the drug treatment it has no effect, you have to operate.
The nocturnal erections
Once you enter paradoxical sleep - the one in which dreams occur - the brain lets its guard down. Thus, it is absolutely normal for men to have four to five erections a night, whether they sleep alone or not! These episodes occur approximately every 90 minutes and last, on average, 20 minutes. The morning erection is an example of this, and often it is also the strongest, since between 6 and 8 in the morning there is a peak of testosterone.
Problems with erection
Inability to have an erection sufficient for penetration or to maintain an erection: this is what is meant by erection problem (the term impotence is now avoided, because it is too negative). It is a widespread sexual disorder, the risk of which increases with age. After the age of 40, 1 in 3 men is affected by this problem; after 50 years, it passes to 1 in 2 men. Erectile dysfunctions can have two types of causes: in 20% of cases, they depend on psychological causes and in the remaining 80%, they are physiological.
Among the psychological causes, several factors are distinguished: performance anxiety, stress, decreased desire ... The mechanism of erection is involuntary, therefore, one must forget one's sexual organ and the fear of misfiring, and let yourself be guided by eroticism: this is the secret to a good erection.
The organic causes: they come into play in the case of "absence of erection even through masturbation. The most frequent origin is vascular (the arteries become blocked and prevent good blood supply to the penis)." Hormonal disorders, alcoholism, smoking, diabetes ... the list of aggravating factors is long. Furthermore, these physiological problems are often accompanied by psychological effects (feeling of loss of virility, loss of self-esteem ...).
There are treatments for those who dare to react! In fact, only 25% of men suffering from these dysfunctions consult a doctor. Others avoid talking about it, either out of shame or because they have the wrong certainty that there is no effective treatment.
