When Morning Wood Doesn’t Happen

Are you noticing that you don’t have a morning erection? Waking up with an erection is normal for healthy males, but what if you don’t have morning wood? Does that mean that something is wrong with your equipment?

Well, most men take it for granted that their penis will be hard in the morning when they wake up. However, there’s no guarantee that it will. There are several factors that can influence whether you have morning wood. If you’re having a bad week at work, a hard night of partying, or you could just have a lot on your mind. All of these can be reasons why you might experience a flaccid morning.

In most cases, it’s nothing to worry about. Yet, if you consistently experience a lack of penile tumescence (NPT) as it’s referred to in the scientific community, there could be a serious underlying health problem.

Serious Reasons You Might Not Have Morning Wood

If you aren’t regularly having a morning erection, you could have a more serious health issue. Your flaccid morning situation could be due to anxiety, depression, or another mental health cause. This is referred to as psychogenic ED. If you’ve been battling mental health issues, then you could see a lack of morning wood as a physical manifestation of what’s going on inside your head.

Your lack of a morning erection could be linked to a serious physical health problem. It could be due to problems with blood pressure, a heart condition, adverse reactions to medication, or low testosterone. You should take note of whether you’re having problems getting and maintaining an erection during normal sexual interactions.

If you think you might have any of these conditions, then your best bet is to see a healthcare professional as soon as possible. You should avoid making a diagnosis on your own and trust the advice of a medical professional. They can run several tests to get to the heart of the matter in a confidential, totally private environment.

How Your Lifestyle Affects Morning Wood

If you’re not getting an erection in the morning, it could be due to factors entirely within your realm of control. Your lifestyle choices could be affecting your sexual health. The good news is that these are things that you can influence, change, and possibly reverse.

Smoking is one of the leading causes of erectile dysfunction. It restricts blood flow and reduces your body’s ability to successfully produce and maintain an erection. You can also see a reduction in morning erections if you were drinking alcohol excessively the night before.

Smoking and drinking alcohol the night before can throw off your body’s natural cycle and cause you to feel especially sluggish below the belt. Try skipping that last cigarette before bedtime. You might also want to reduce the amount of alcohol you drink at night. For guys who like to party and go clubbing at night, be sure to drink water before you turn out the lights.

Related: Do You Know These 5 Unhealthy Side Effects of Binge Drinking?

Some drugs can take away your erection, too. If you’re taking cocaine, ecstasy, marijuana, Xanax, antidepressants, or other drugs, you might not get a morning erection. You should avoid drugs if you’re concerned about your sexual health.

Some guys try to compensate for their lifestyle habits by taking performance enhancing drugs. This is a recipe for disaster and it’s no substitute for good lifestyle choices. If you try to mix and match drugs by taking party drugs and an erectile dysfunction medication such as Cialis or Viagra, then you could seriously jeopardize your health.

Are you drinking enough water? Yes, something as simple as the amount of water you drink can affect your ability to get an erection in the morning. If you’re dehydrated, then your body won’t be able to maintain a strong erection. So, be sure to drink plenty of fluids ever day.

Sleep can affect your ability to have morning wood. While you sleep, your body repairs damaged cells and works to balance out your hormones. There’s a lot going on while you sleep that your conscious mind simply isn’t aware of.

If you aren’t getting enough sleep at night, then your body might not be able to properly produce and maintain the chemical balance necessary to make you hard in the morning. Your problem could be as simple as needing to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep.

How Old Are You?

Lastly, you should consider your age. It’s the most common factor in erectile dysfunction cases. As you get older, your libido slows down, and you don’t get nearly as many early morning boners. It’s perfectly natural. In fact, according to scientific research on penile tumescence (NPT), men older than 65 might not experience frequent morning erections.

If occasionally you’re not getting a morning erection, that’s not necessarily a sign of erectile dysfunction (ED). When you reach your 40s and 50s, your body starts to produce less testosterone. This can affect your morning erections. You just might not get them as frequently as you used to.

Related: 5 Exercises to Increase Your Libido

Increasing Your Chances for a Morning Erection

You might experience erections throughout the night while you’re sleeping and not even know it. Some guys can get as many as five erections, especially during the REM phase when you’re dreaming. So, just because you’re not always hard in the morning, doesn’t mean that you haven’t been getting hard throughout the night.

You could try sleeping in loose fitting underwear or forego clothing all together. The lack of clothing increases stimulation and makes it more likely for you to get aroused. You might also benefit from some nighttime meditations or relaxation therapies. This can help you relax and unwind so that you’re more likely to get a morning erection.

You could also talk to your healthcare professional or doctor. They can help you find the exact cause and track your progress so that you can see what’s working for you and what’s not. If you have a more serious condition, then there are quite a few treatment options available.

You should definitely NOT panic just because you’re not getting hard every single morning. It could be that you’re simply not a morning person. Some guys wake up and they’re ready to go. Other guys just don’t feel sexually stimulated in the morning.

So, relax. Morning wood isn’t everything. It’s not the key indicator of how mighty you are and it’s not even the best indicator of whether you have erectile dysfunction. Look at your lifestyle first and see if there are any areas where you can affect change. Then, think about talking to a professional.

Read Next: Here’s Why You Wake Up With Morning Wood