Anne Truong MDMen's Sexual Health Doctor

What really causes morning erections? #youtubeshorts #shorts #morningwood #morningerection #erection

1 Sept 2023 · 1 min

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0:51

Short YouTube clip by Anne Truong MD explaining that morning erections are caused by activation of the parasympathetic nervous system (the 'rest-and-digest' system), not by sexual dreams or a full bladder; contrasts parasympathetic (promotes erection) with sympathetic (fight-or-flight, inhibits erection).

Chapters

So some people believe that sexual dream or full bladder can cause morning erection. However, what truly causes them are the parasympathetic nervous system. This is the same nervous system that controls system in your body such as digestion, urination and of course sexual arousal when you have an erection. That is due to the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system or the term for that is the rest and digest and breathe nervous system versus the other system called the sympathetic nervous system is fight or flight. That's the one that is prominent when you're stressed out and that's the one that inhibits you from getting an erection.