Nocturnal erections ( English nocturnal penile tumescence - night swelling of the penis; expanded. "Morning erection", "morning riser") - spontaneous erection during sleep or on waking. All men without physiological erectile dysfunction experience this phenomenon, usually 3-5 times per night, usually in the REM phase [1] . It is believed that nocturnal erections prevent some diseases of the penis [2] .
Diagnostic value
Penis Nocturnal Swelling (NNP) is used to determine if erectile dysfunction is psychological or physiological. The patient with NNP receives an elastic device that he puts on the penis during sleep. The device detects changes in the thickness of the penis and sends the data to a computer for further processing. If nocturnal erections are present, the cause of erectile dysfunction is defined as psychological, otherwise it is considered physiological.
Mechanism
The causes of nocturnal erections are not exactly known. Bancroft [3] suggests that noradrenergic blue spot neurons inhibit (suppress) an erection, and the cessation of their activity during REM can create testosterone- related excitations leading to NNP [2] .
Reflex erection is controlled by the sacral nerves S2 – S4 [2] . A full bladder can stimulate nerve excitation in this area, which leads to an erection as a reaction to overflowing the bladder.
The possibility that a full bladder causes an erection, especially during sleep, is also supported by the fact that this phenomenon would be beneficial in helping to prevent enuresis . However, the presence of a similar phenomenon in women — nightly clitoris swelling — suggests that the prevention of enuresis is probably not the only reason [2] .
Notes
- ↑ Tests for Erection Problems . WebMD , Inc. Date of treatment March 3, 2007.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Scott Beale. Why Do Men Get Erections in the Morning . IFL Science (Aug 2016). Date of treatment December 3, 2016.
- ↑ Bancroft J. The endocrinology of sexual arousal // Journal of Endocrinology. 2005.186 (3): 411-427.