Erectile dysfunction is a fairly common form of sexual dysfunction. It’s unlikely that you could go through your life without dealing with ED since there is a very fine balance of physiological and psychological conditions that allow for one.
In most cases, there isn’t anything physically wrong with people but stress can cause ED; so if you’ve had erection problems lately, there’s no need to worry since this can be easily remedied.
This blog will provide a thorough guideline on how to get an erection; it will identify potential causes of ED and will talk about some techniques on how to improve your erections.
- How does an erection form?
- What causes erection problems?
- How to get an erection
- How to maintain an erection
- How to get a harder erection
How does an erection form?
The process of getting an erection is a complex combination of hormones, blood pressure, mental state and a matter of stimulation.
The penis itself is a complicated formation of muscle, tissues and nerves which facilitate erections. Through careful manipulation of blood pressure and blood flow, these components allow you to get an erection.
Before we can fully understand how you get an erection, we’ll need to know what the anatomy of the human penis is.
The Anatomy of the Human Penis
Your penis is comprised of three basic structures, which accommodate increased blood volumes during an erection. These include:
- The Glans (The tip of the penis)
- The Shaft (Which contains the erectile tissue)
- The Scrotum
The Glans
The glans is located at the top of the penis, although it doesn’t play a major role in the formation of an erection; it still accommodates a slightly elevated volume of blood to become engorged.
The Shaft
The shaft is central to the formation of an erection. It contains most of the erectile tissue which is responsible for the erection. This tissue, called the corpora cavernosa runs down the length of the shaft and ends just beneath the glans.
The corpora cavernosa acts like a protective sheath around the urethra, in addition to also acting as the primary erectile tissues.
How Do You Get an Erection?
When you’re sexually stimulated, whether visually, cognitively or physically, the dorsal nerve in your penis sends signals to the brain making it aware of the sensation. The brain in return induces a release of nitric oxide into the corpora cavernosa which causes it to relax.
This relaxation allows the dorsal artery to dilate because it isn’t being compressed by the cavernosa tissues and so an increased amount of blood rushes into the now relaxed corpora cavernosa.
This relaxation of the corpora cavernosa also restricts the veins carrying the blood out of the penis, making sure more blood flows into the penis than out. As a result, the penis gets stiffer until you have a fully formed erection.
In comparison, when your penis is flaccid; the veins in your penis are dilated and the arteries are restricted so that blood flow is balanced out to keep it flaccid.
The treatments for erectile dysfunction also revolve around increasing blood flow to the penis for this reason.
A lot of supplements are manufactured with high amounts of L-Arginine because it can be oxidized to become nitric oxide and many time supplements try to improve blood circulation because it is central to achieving an erection.
What Causes Erection Problems?
There are many reasons why you could have erection problems. The full list of reasons is a combination of health, diet and psychological factors which cause erectile problems.
Many people who suffer from ED or even the slightest erection problems can easily make changes to these to continue maintaining great erections.
Some common reasons for erectile dysfunction include:
Nervousness
Erectile dysfunction or just the infrequent inability to get an erection has often been linked to nervousness and anxiety.
Many men find themselves pressured in sexual situations with their partners and this affects the consistency of their erections. This is also called “Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction”.
You can tell if your erection problems are psychological in nature if you can get an erection by yourself but not with your partner.
Health Issues
Any medical conditions that cause blood pressure and blood circulation problems can easily also cause erectile dysfunction. This can include conditions like hypertension, diabetes, obesity and often neurological conditions.
For many people, the use of medication for these conditions can also cause erectile dysfunction. Medications for high blood pressure, depression, anti-seizure medication and many others can also cause erectile dysfunction.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of conditions and medication that cause erectile dysfunction and you should always consult with your doctor to see if your condition could be caused by another problem.
Diet
Your diet and health are directly linked to one another in ways that an unhealthy diet can cause many conditions. Particularly, diets high in trans fat like those found in beef, mutton and cheese can lead to high cholesterol levels, which restrict blood flow throughout the body.
Although high cholesterol causes cardiovascular disease which then causes erectile dysfunction, there is a reason to believe that high cholesterol itself might be reason enough to get ED.
Similarly, foods high in sugar can cause diabetes and obesity which would then lead to erectile dysfunction.
Many interventions to help treat ED include making dietary changes which can reduce cholesterol levels in the body or bring diabetes under control, which could improve blood circulation to the penis and improve erectile dysfunction.
Other Causes of ED
Some other causes of Erectile Dysfunction can include:
- Alcohol Consumption
- Alcohol is widely known to be a vasoconstrictor. Alcohol consumption can constrict blood vessels so that less blood flows through them. This directly affects the blood vessels in the penis to cause erectile dysfunction.
- Smoking
The link between male sexual dysfunction has also been deeply explored to establish strong links between smoking and erectile dysfunction, testicular cancer, low sperm counts and much more.
In addition to this, cigarettes are also vasoconstrictors, like alcohol, in addition to being a leading cause of many cardiovascular diseases.
How To Get An Erection?
Getting an erection has more to do with stimulation than anything else really. Short of an actual medical condition, visual, physical or mental stimulation could help you get an erection.
However, for the purposes for anyone reading this blog, we will also discuss other methods besides just stimulation.
Try Multiple Forms of Stimulation
Physical stimulation is clearly one of the more obvious ways of getting an erection, where you ask your partner to or you yourself gently stroke your penis to get an erection.
There are other forms of stimulation where you can view visually stimulating material to get an erection or you could imagine yourself in a sexual situation to arouse yourself.
One of them is bound to work for you if there isn’t anything physically wrong with you that would stop you from getting an erection.
Pharmaceutical Options
PDE-5 Inhibitors are a class of drugs that can help you get an erection. The more famous of these is Viagra. However, there are others that you can try out.
The formulas of PDE-5 inhibitors that have been approved by the FDA include:
- Sildenafil (Viagra)
- Tadalafil (Cialis)
- Avanafil (Stendra)
- Vardenafil (Levitra)
- Dietary Changes
Eating foods that can help cut down cholesterol and improve blood circulation can also help get erections. These foods include watermelons, chilli, coffee, dark chocolate and garlic among others.
Exercise
Aerobic activity has been associated with improved sexual performance in men because it improves the health of your cardiovascular symptoms and cuts down cholesterol.
Common aerobic exercises include swimming, jogging and cycling.
Get Therapy
You can also try visiting a therapist to see if you can resolve your performance anxiety issues to make getting an erection easier. Of course, just sitting down and having an honest conversation with your partner can go a long way.
Surgical Options
Many people opt for penile implants and pumps to get erections. These are, however, the last resort when all else has failed.
How To Maintain An Erection
You might want to try out the following techniques to see if you can keep an erection for longer periods of time:
- Vacuum Erectile Devices (VEDs)
- Try out dietary changes like watermelons, chilli, dark chocolate, coffee
- Quit smoking and cut down on the drinking
- Get more exercise
- Eat healthier
- Try out Kegel exercises
- Try to build up to your sexual relations with your partner with activities like going on romantic dinners
How To Get A Harder Erection
- Getting harder erections is rather similar to maintaining and getting erections. Some things you can try out are:
- Try edging
- Eat foods which can help improve blood circulation
- Jelqing
- VEDs
- Try natural supplements which can boost energy
You Could Also Try out Male Extra
If nothing else works out for you, you can try out Male Extra. The male sexual enhancement supplement is one of the most widely used in the market.
Made from L-Arginine HCL and Pomegranate with 40% Ellagic acid can boost nitrogen oxide levels in the body to get you better erections, which will last longer than you’ve ever seen before.
Considering its all natural ingredients, there are no side-effects of using the supplement and it gives you an energy boost which will improve your erection quality and boost your times in bed.
Conclusion
There are many options in the market that you could try out to help reduce the frequency of your erectile dysfunction and which could answer your questions on how to get an erection.
Many of these have been reported to do wonders for men’s sexual performance; however, some are much better than others.
Before you go for any of the medical options, it’s better that you visit a medical professional first who can guide you on the ways to medicate and suggest potential alternatives that might also do help overcome your erection problems.
