Matters of the bedroom are usually kept fairly private, especially if things aren’t going all that great. Sex is for most people one of the great pleasures that life has to offer, but too many of us are not having as good sex as we could be. For men, the correct functioning of their sexual organ is vital for satisfying sex for all parties involved, and too often they don’t perform as they’re supposed to. Erectile Dysfunction can be a tricky topic to address, and yet plagues approximately half of men by the age of 45. Unfortunately, the condition appears to be affecting more and more younger men in the last decade or so, and in this article written by Pharmica we delve into why exactly this might be.
A Quick Summary of Erectile Dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction is quite simply define as the inability to achieve or maintain an erection for long enough to have sex. It occurs when the necessary blood flow is unable to be achieved in the penis, or if the body releases enzymes to stop the erection prematurely. This can be difficult for men to deal with and come to terms with, as it disrupts the sex life and can cause tension in relationships. Numerous factors may lead to erectile dysfunction occurring, including psychological reasons such as performance anxiety, depression or stress, and physiological reasons like obesity, diabetes or cardiovascular disease. Lifestyle factors can also play a huge part, such as alcohol consumption and exercise. For older men, physiological factors tend to play the biggest part, whilst in younger men, mental factors are likely to carry more weight.
Diet
When you eat junk food, you consume a lot of fat and cholesterol. This can build up in your arteries and narrow them, building blood pressure and reducing circulation. This decreases blood flow throughout the body, including to the penis, making it harder to obtain an erection. If you have high cholesterol or you’re obese, you’re more likely to develop diabetes, and ED affects diabetics up to 15 years earlier than non-diabetics, potentially explaining a spike in younger men experiencing ED. Indeed, the rise of fast food delivery apps is popular among younger adults, and is likely a contributor.
Whilst drinking alcohol is normalised in the UK, it is not conducive to proper sexual functioning. It causes the blood vessels in the penis to narrow, making ED much more likely. Alcohol sales from supermarkets have risen over the past year, and a decline in mental health due to the pandemic may have led to people drinking more than before. With the binge-drinking culture that young people in the UK like to embody, they may be more affected by this than their older counterparts.
Illicit Drug Use
The UK has the highest rate of cocaine usage among young people in the whole of Europe, and heavy use of the substance can decrease blood flow to the penis, decrease the libido and result in a loss of sensation during sex, all contributing to ED. Illicit drug use is counterproductive to ED, whereas prescription medication use can help overcome ED, such as the popular brand Viagra.
Mental Health
Mental factors tend to play a much larger role in ED for younger men than they do for older men, and conditions like depression and anxiety may be preventing a continuous erection from being achievable. Stress at work can often also lead to these conditions, as well as decreased libido. Not having had sex often during the pandemic might mean that now the world is returning to normal, sexual encounters produce more nerves than before, and performance anxiety becomes a problem.
Pornography
The over-consumption of porn is heavily linked to erectile dysfunction. Porn is so widely and freely available nowadays, and young people spend a lot of time online. There is a risk that young men may become desensitised to porn that displays more normal types of sexual encounters, and move on to more and more extreme content, meaning that when they have real sex, they aren’t as turned on, leading to ED.
Erectile Dysfunction can thankfully be easily treated with a variety of effective ED treatments that are clinically proven to help achieve an erection in as little as 15 minutes after taking.
