THERE'S NO RULE for how long a hard-on should remain naturally hard without being on any medications, but the average erection would be roughly 10 minutes.
Midlife, mental and physical health, and a sedentary lifestyle affect the individual duration and cause Erectile Dysfunction (ED). But there are things that you can do to avoid (ED) problems before they start.
According to the NHS, ED is caused by stress, fatigue, anxiety, or drinking too much alcohol, and it usually goes away on its own. Yet it affects up to one in five men (4.3 million males) in the UK and is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, and early mortality. It is anticipated that 322 million men worldwide will be affected by 2025.
“For men who have ED, the penis is a barometer of what's happening in the rest of the body", explains Wayne Hellstrom MD, Professor of Urology at the Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans.
ED is not an age-related condition. It affects men in their teens, twenties, and thirties. About half of men between the ages of 40 and 70 have ED. About 7 in 10 men aged 70 and above have ED.
Reduced blood flow to the penis is, by far, the most common cause of ED in men over the age of 40. The arteries that supply blood to the penis, like those in other regions of the body, can constrict. The blood flow may be insufficient to generate an erection. Risk factors can increase the likelihood of arterial narrowing. If you increase your physical activity, it will not only reduce your risk of heart disease but the endothelium - the inner lining of your blood vessels- will also improve.
Researchers at Hirosaki University, Japan, who developed a 'two-step test' found that men who take little steps are 40% more likely than those who take great strides to have impotence. They recorded the gait of 324 men by measuring the length of their steps and the height of their feet while walking. Men with little steps received a 153cm average score, whereas men with large steps received a 166cm average score.
Lead author, Dr Shingo Hatakeyama from Hirosaki University, said: “Muscle strength and flexibility of the pelvis and legs are key factors for ED. We believe that both erectile dysfunction and small steps can be caused by weak pelvic muscles.”
The pelvic floor is the foundation of a group of muscles known as your ‘core’. These muscles in your pelvis stretch like a hammock from the pubic bone in the front to the tail bone in the back and side. They support the bladder and bowel and play an important role in bladder and bowel control and sexual function. If your pelvic floor muscles aren't working well, you may leak when you cough, sneeze, lift, laugh, or exercise.
Pelvic muscular strength enhances men's ability to get and keep an erection. If your pelvic floor muscles haven't been a focus for you up to this point, they should be. Otherwise, the pelvic floor will weaken, overstretch, and deteriorate over time, especially if you don't exercise.
As you look for impotence treatments, you'll come across suggestions for penis training to boost your erections. "Penis exercise may seem beneficial," Hellstrom says, "but I don't believe there is any data to support it."
The term "penis exercise" really refers to pelvic floor or Kegel exercises, in which a man concentrates on strengthening the muscles that govern urine and ejaculation flow. These exercises are prescribed for men recuperating from prostate cancer treatment who are having trouble ejaculating or having difficulty holding their pee. Still, they do not appear to help with ED.
Exercising your core only works if it targets the right muscles – hidden from view and not easy to know whether the muscles are working correctly. Imagine lowering into a plunge pool, and the water is up to your groin. You want to lift your scrotum as far into your body as possible, squeezing the muscles at the base of your penis. It's not so much what you do as it is how consistently you do it that counts.
Deep Water Walking exercise for ED
When standing, water's natural drag provides 12% to 18% more resistance than air. Walking in water provides 75% greater resistance than when swimming horizontally. So, moving through it is like having weights all around your body. As you push against the force of water, you have to work harder to train deep core muscles that are harder to target on land. There is also a natural slowing down of every movement you make, allowing you to focus on activating your pelvic floor muscle contraction, even if it's a subtle one. Slowly step forward, hold your pelvic floor muscles for 5 seconds (lifting your genitals), completely relax your muscles for 5 seconds, and repeat.
You are not clenching your buttocks, legs, or abs as you power your way through the water. Deep water walking is a slow, meaningful, meditative process: core engagement and letting go. Relaxing the pelvic floor muscles as you draw in the muscles around the base of the penis, as if you were trying to stop the flow of urine. You should feel your penis draw in and your scrotum lift.
Other things you can do to extend your hard-on
The 'start-stop' method, also known as "edging", stimulates the penis until you're ready to climax. Pull away slightly then stop until the urge to come passes. It will also make your partner want you more when you stop for a while. Repeating this action will help you learn to delay your climax, resulting in a longer-lasting hard-on.
There's also the squeeze technique, which works similarly but involves holding the tip of the penis until the climax sensation fades.
A healthy diet; reduce your intake of processed foods, sweets, and red meat while increasing your diet of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
It is good to avoid huge meals before having sex. When you eat a large meal, your blood is diverted away from your erection and toward digestion.
Don't give too much thought to how long you're supposed to last. Guys lie, magazines lie, and so do porn videos. How long your erection lasts doesn't matter. Mutually ‘good’ sex isn't just about penetration, and you don't necessarily need a hard-on to give her satisfaction.
