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Morning Erection (Morning Wood)

psychiatrist, sexologist, psychotherapist
  • Published:
    25 July 2022
  • Updated:
    16 February 2024
Morning Erection

How many men do not know that erection is an indicator of a male's sexual health? Especially a morning erection (colloquially "morning wood", "morning glory", and "dawn boner"). However, things are not that simple.

A morning erection is the same mechanism as one that occurs during the day. It is a natural manifestation of male physiology, not a deviation.

There is still insufficient research into the importance of morning erections, and none of the theories about morning erections are fully supported by studies, but the most important causes can be mentioned.

  • The concentration of testosterone in the blood is maximal in the morning, and decreases in the evening. However, the level of testosterone varies not only throughout the day but also as the individual ages. At the age of 18, it will be higher compared to 40, due to adolescent sexual activity. Testosterone levels naturally start to decrease after the age of 40, up to about 2% annually. Therefore, morning erections occur less frequently as you get older, which is normal. However, it is not normal to have no erection at all.
  • In the morning, the body checks all systems, including the sexual system, to make sure they are functioning properly.
  • Wake up in the REM sleep phase. This is a light sleep phase, marked by eyeball twitching, involuntary muscle contractions, and increasing activity of certain parts of the brain, including areas responsible for sexual arousal.
  • An unproven but widespread theory is sleeping without underwear on your stomach. Combine this with heightened sensitivity of the glans of the penis, and the morning erection is ready.
  • Overfilling of the bladder from a night's sleep can also cause a morning erection.

Morning erection normally occurs in adolescence, when puberty starts and follows a man until he is about 50. A morning erection occurs more frequently among younger men and less frequently among the elderly. It is normal for an erection to occur every day or a couple of times a week. Concerns should only be raised when a man notices a prolonged absence of morning erections.

So, if you don't know how to start your morning, begin with love.


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