The penile has two chambers inside it that are known as the corpora cavernosa. These chambers extend from the head of your penile area deep into the pelvis. These chambers’ insides are made of spongy tissue & can achieve blood volume & grow in size.
When you’re at work, hitting the gym, or running errands, the arteries supplying blood to your penile area are only open partially. This keeps your tissue healthy by providing blood flow. Magic happens when men become sexually aroused. In response to physical or mental arousal, your brain sends immediate signals to trigger a hormonal response that allows the same arteries to open totally.
Open arteries allow blood to enter the corpora cavernosa. The blood enters quickly as it can leave through your veins. The veins get compressed, trapping blood in your penile region. This chain lets you gain and sustain with erection.
When your brain ignores sending signals that indicate sexual arousal, the hormonal response ends immediately. Your arteries go back to their normal state & also your penile returns to a pure flaccid state.
How Erectile Dysfunction Occurs?
There are plenty of different causes by which ED can happen in men. But there are three of the most common factors which are: Your brain isn’t sending the right signals to your penis. Neurological disorders like multiple sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer’s disease, and also Parkinson’s disorder can lead to ED by disrupting your brain’s ability to signal sexual arousal to reach your reproductive area.
Or the blood flow to your penile is not good enough. High blood pressure, heart disorder, high cholesterol & also diabetes can all affect blood flow to the penile area leading to weak erections, which makes erections difficult to achieve. Your erectile tissue is damaged. This can happen when a man has undergone treatment of radiation for prostate or bladder cancer.
Benefits of Harder Erections
Your dick is the most temperamental part of your body. As a teenager, you had to fight with erections popping up everywhere at the most inopportune moments & from the slightest stimuli.
Suddenly the small triggers like anxiety, stress, depression, obesity, alcohol, and your age leave you unable to stay hard when you want to.
How does it work?
An erection happens when the blood flow to the penile grows, causing it to change shape & size of it. There are three major stages of erection:
Soft or flaccid penile: This is the “normal” state, and it happens when there is no sexual arousal or stimulation. During this phase, blood flow to & from the penile is equal.
Swollen penile: Sexual stimulation happens as the brain and nerves change the blood vessels and tissue of the penile so that more blood flows into the penis than flows. The penile starts to swell during this period.
Erect penis: Penile here becomes erect as visual, imaginary, or touch stimulation continues. The brain and also the nerves send more blood to the penile area and restrict blood flow from it. The penile becomes erect, allowing manual stimulation anal or oral sex to happen.
Plenty of physical or psychological factors can prevent an erection or from lasting long for the best sexual intercourse session. The penile may be erect for no reason. An erection can happen at awkward times during any time of the day.
In such cases, a person can take a few steps, like readjusting their pants, to hide the erection and try taking their mind off their penile. If these steps are not successful, then they can visit any private place and wait until the erection goes away.
How long should sex and erections last?
There is no set time for the duration of the sexual process or how long a penile should stay erect. An average erection may last from a few minutes to half an hour approx. This can however vary due to the plenty of factors that can affect the duration of the erection. Also, note that a person does not need any kind of erection to gain an orgasm.
People may be worried that they are on either side of the spectrum and that their erection stays for too long or not for enough duration. In a few cases, individuals may have found it tough to gain an erection or maintain it long enough time to perform a satisfactory sexual session. Physical or psychological factors can also contribute to erectile dysfunction (ED) or premature ejaculation (PE).
Factors affecting erections
Plenty of factors can cause erection problems. These include:
- fatigue
- alcohol or drug use
- distractions
- feelings of self-consciousness
- tension
- being quite uncomfortable with a partner
In addition to these causes of erection, medical issues can also cause short- or long-term ED. For example, after getting treatment for prostate cancer, a few people may form ED. However, such individuals can regain total sexual function.
When to see a doctor
A person may not need to see their doctor for erection issues. Temporary problems, just as stress, and relationship problems, may be reason for erection troubles but do not necessarily need a visit to a doctor.
A person however should talk to their doctor if they have an issue with achieving an erection frequently. Their doctor will help them identify the cause behind it, such as medication or any kind of emotional problem. The doctor can also give you the treatment to help the individual gain an erection. If a person has an erection issue that is unrelated to sexual activity & hence this can last for more than a few hours, at this time they should seek immediate medical help.
The bottom line:
Erections are necessary for plenty of sexual activity that involves a person with penile. Erections begin at the time of arousal and fade away when arousal stops or follows ejaculation.
Factors like stress, alcohol consumption, and medication can affect the ability of a person to gain and sustain an erection. If a person has trouble with getting an erection regularly, then they should talk to their doctor because they may be suffering from ED.