Sexual health problems bring awkwardness, frustration, and embarrassment in the bedroom. One of the most prevalent of these issues is erectile dysfunction, which is a condition in which a man loses the ability to achieve and maintain an erection for sex. While it can strike any man, it is most common in older men, especially those who are in their 60s and older.
What causes erectile dysfunction?
There is a long list of things that can potentially cause erectile dysfunction, and many of them are underlying health conditions, such as:
- Being overweight or obese
- Diabetes
- Atherosclerosis or clogged blood vessels.
- High blood pressure
- High blood cholesterol
- Parkinson’s disease
- Multiple sclerosis.
- Alcoholism
- Drug addiction
- Sleep disorder
- Spinal or pelvic injuries
- Certain prescription medications
- High levels of stress
- Anxiety, clinical depression, or other mental health problems
Another common cause of erectile dysfunction is old age. Usually, once you reach the age of 60, getting and maintaining an erection that is hard and long lasting can be quite difficult. One reason for this is the decline in testosterone levels, which naturally occurs with age. Testosterone plays an important role in men’s libido or sex drive and various other sexual functions.
Other diseases that are linked to erectile dysfunction are testicular cancer, HIV, AIDS, type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney, and liver disease. If you are afflicted with any of these, your body will be unable to produce large amounts testosterone for high libido and other things.
What can you do to protect yourself against erectile dysfunction?
A healthy lifestyle can help achieve optimal sexual health. If you make smart and healthy choices in the foods that you eat, the activities that you do, and others, you can lower your risk of erectile dysfunction, and be successful in pleasuring your partner in bed.
Below are examples of lifestyle changes that you can do to prevent erectile dysfunction:
Healthy and balanced diet
Your body needs essential nutrients for it to properly function. If you eat too much fatty, sugary, and junk foods, you are endangering your heart, brain, and other vital organs. Your blood circulation is disrupted, and blood flow to your penis is decreased. If this happens, your risk of erectile dysfunction increases. For good health, you have to carefully choose what you eat. Eliminate unhealthy foods from your meals, and introduce fruits, vegetables, and other natural healthy options.
Regular exercise
Not moving around and being lazy can contribute to erectile dysfunction. If you are used to a sedentary lifestyle where you spend eight to ten hours of your day on your desk at work, and spend another four to six hours sitting on the couch and watching television at home, your cardiovascular system will be in peril. You will have an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity. But, if you exercise, you can work your heart and enhance your blood circulation. Enough blood should be able to flow to your penis, giving you firm and strong erections.
Stress management
Too much stress brought about by work, school, family, finances, and relationships can ruin your mood. It not only can make you irritable and negative, it can also take away your desire for sex. To avoid the repercussions, you should find ways to better deal with your stress. Try relaxation exercises or strategies, such as yoga, self-hypnosis, or meditation. Make sure that you sleep well every night. You should also consider seeing a therapist to help you overcome your problem.
Quit smoking
The substances found in tobacco and cigarettes can damage your blood vessels. They can block blood from flowing to the different parts of your body, such as your penis, and lower your body’s nitric oxide levels, resulting to erectile difficulties. If you want to be able to perform satisfactorily in bed, you have to commit to quitting smoking for good.
Limit alcohol consumption
Excessive drinking of alcohol has a major impact in your sexual health and overall health. It can increase your risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, kidney damage, liver damage, and heart disease, and also weaken your erections. For your sake, you should learn to control your drinking, and do not allow yourself to drink more than two drinks a day or 14 a week. Anything more than that is too much, and can put you closer to a plethora of health problems.
Mental health
Some cases of erectile dysfunction are caused by anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns. If you have that feeling of sadness, misery, and numbness all the time, getting sexual aroused can be a challenge, and getting intimate with your partner will be tough. This can lead to many fights, and even breakup. To fix that, you should go see a mental health professional or sex therapist.
Regular medical checkup
Monitoring your health, whether or not you are feeling pains or aches or seeing visible signs and symptoms, is of utmost importance. You should not think that you only have to go to the doctor and undergo medical exams when you feel sick. You have to do it regularly because many diseases do not trigger noticeable symptoms right away, and you do not want to detect them when it is already too late.
Why should you treat erectile dysfunction as soon as possible?
Your quality of life will significantly decline if your erectile problem is not addressed at the earliest opportunity. If you forego a doctor’s consultation and treatment, you are only putting yourself at a much worse position. Erectile dysfunction can:
- Make your sex life dull, boring, frustrating, and embarrassing
- Lose you sex partners because of fights, conflicts, etc.
- Immensely lower your self-esteem and self-worth
- Ruin your and your partner’s plan to get pregnant and start a family
- Put you in a bad mood not only at home but at work, school, and other settings
- Worsen your stress and mental health problems
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