This article was reviewed by Kelly Brown MD, MBA
If you struggle with ED, you’re not alone — data suggests this medical condition affects around 30 million men in the U.S. And while there are many causes of ED, you may share one problem that’s common among adult men: a lack of sleep.
We know sleep is crucial to health and overall well-being, and not getting enough sleep can cause many issues in your daily life. It can also affect your ED in a number of ways, physically and psychologically.
Let’s explore the ways ED and sleep can be connected and how a good night’s rest might help improve your intimate life.
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Does Being Tired Affect a Man Intimately?
Sleep loss can affect many areas of your overall health, and the men’s health effects of poor sleep quality can be both direct and indirect.
Research continues to show that getting too few hours of sleep increases your risk of numerous health problems, from cardiovascular issues like hypertension and heart disease to a higher risk of obesity, low testosterone levels, and increased blood pressure — and the list goes on.
For many men, ED is a vascular condition affecting the blood flow to the privates. That means that cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure are, unfortunately, risk factors for ED.
People who work overnight shifts may also experience issues.
Working non-standard hours or night shifts can throw your circadian rhythm — the body’s internal clock that carries out essential functions — out of alignment and interfere with bodily functions, and overall intimate function.
What’s more, poor sleep can sap you of intimacy hormones, increase cortisol levels, and up your risk of anxiety and depression — all of which are associated with an increased risk of ED.
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Can Lack of Sleep Cause ED?
So, can sleep deprivation also directly cause ED or other dysfunction? Unfortunately, yes. A lack of sleep can impact your mental and physical health, including intimate health. Intimacy dysfunction can include a lack of arousal or interest in being intimate, not being able to climax, and, in some cases, can even include downright painful intimacy.
Chronic sleep disorders like insomnia or sleep apnea can also be a risk factor for (and accompany) ED.
If you struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep or don’t get quality sleep, you may be dealing with insomnia. Other symptoms of insomnia include lying awake for a long time, only sleeping for short amounts of time, or waking up too early in the morning.
A lack of sleep and disrupted sleep — common insomnia symptoms — have been linked to a higher risk of ED in several ways.
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Lower Testosterone Levels
Disrupted sleep can also affect testosterone levels. Testosterone levels are generally at their highest during REM sleep, a stage of sleep with rapid eye movement (REM) and dreaming.
This disruption to levels of testosterone production could lead to hypogonadal symptoms, a condition where the body’s glands related to intimacy don’t produce hormones, and can potentially cause ED.
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Worsened Mental Health
Sleep deprivation can also affect your intimate life by exacerbating mental health concerns like depression and anxiety.
Mental health concerns can often influence desire in men, and there can be a strong connection between ED and mental health concerns, as a 2015 study found.
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Relationship Problems
Poor sleep or a lack of sleep can also lead to relationship issues, which can then affect intimate health and intimate activities with your partner. A lack of sleep can heighten stress and cause conflict with a partner.
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Can Sleep Apnea Cause ED?
Lack of sleep could be a possible cause of ED, but a particular condition that causes poor sleep might even affect your health while you’re sleeping.
Sleep apnea is when your breathing stops and restarts multiple times while you’re asleep. There are two types of sleep apnea:
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Obstructive sleep apnea. The most common type of sleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea, occurs when your upper airway becomes blocked and airflow completely stops or significantly decreases.
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Central sleep apnea. This type of sleep apnea happens when your brain doesn’t send signals to breathe. It may be caused by health conditions that affect how your brain controls your chest muscles and airway.
Symptoms of severe sleep apnea can include loud snoring, feeling sleepy in the daytime, headaches, and intimacy dysfunction or decreased libido.
A 2016 study also found that obstructive sleep apnea is associated with a significantly higher risk of ED.
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What to Do about Lack of Sleep and ED
Now that we’ve determined that sleep, or lack thereof, can affect your intimacy, let’s talk about the ways to right the ship.
Treating Sleep Deprivation
Since a lack of sleep and ED are connected, improving your sleep can help your health and overall well-being.
Diagnosing and properly treating sleep disorders like sleep apnea can help improve sleep and, therefore, may improve your intimate life. So, your journey to better sleep might start with talking to your healthcare provider.
We mentioned sleep apnea specifically because, in one randomized trial, using a consistent treatment plan for sleep apnea reduced ED in men. If you have sleep apnea, that may mean employing a continuous positive airway pressure or CPAP machine.
For long-term insomnia, your healthcare provider may recommend cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). CBT-I can help you overcome the underlying cause of your sleep problems by identifying thoughts and behaviors that worsen sleep problems and replacing them with habits that promote sound sleep.
Sleep hygiene — or good sleep habits — is also important for quality sleep. Going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day, making sure the room is dark and quiet, getting exercise during the day, and removing screens from your bedroom can all help improve sleep.
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Treating ED
If sleep deprivation isn’t the cause of your ED, there are other treatment options that a urology or other healthcare professional can help you with.
Medications are a common option. There are several drugs that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for treatingED, including Viagra (sildenafil), Cialis (tadalafil), and Stendra (avanafil).
Psychiatry is another treatment option for ED and can also be beneficial if you struggle with a sleep disorder or mental health condition like depression or anxiety. Consider therapy if your drive feels stunted by stress, anxiety, or depression.
Certain lifestyle changes like increased physical activity, eating a healthy diet, and quitting smoking have all been found to help with ED prevention.
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Sleep Deprivation and ED: Takeaways
Can lack of sleep cause ED? Yes.
There are many links between lack of sleep and ED. From worsening mental health issues to impacting testosterone levels and more, a lack of sleep can affect your inyimate life and performance.
There are also many ways you can manage sleep deprivation and treat ED, from getting better rest and sticking to a better bedtime routine to seeing a healthcare provider and learning more about ED medications.
- Related: Can Gummy Edibles Help with This Common Male Problem?
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This article originally appeared on Hims.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org
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