Dear Sexpert,\nMy boyfriend always has an erection when he wakes up in the morning. Sometimes I've woken up in the middle of the night and discovered he has an erection, even when he's fast asleep! I've heard people talk about "morning wood," but why does this happen? Does it mean he's become aroused, even in his sleep?\nEarly Riser
Dear Early Riser,\nPhysically healthy men normally experience two to five erections a night during the peak stages of REM sleep. The body undergoes a number of measurable changes during this stage of sleep, including increased pulse and breathing rates, which indicate arousal of the nervous system. This does not mean the man is dreaming about sex when these nighttime hard-ons occur; it just means the increased blood flow to the genital region has caused an erection. Men have no control over this and most likely aren't even aware of it.\nMorning wood occurs when a man is awakened abruptly during the last REM cycle of the night (you are usually in the REM stage right before you wake up). Unless he was actually in the middle of an erotic dream when he woke up, morning erections are usually purely physiological and not accompanied by emotional sexual arousal. Men might not even remember what it was they were dreaming about when they had their erections. \nMorning and nocturnal erections are normal and healthy. In fact, they are even favorable, as men who are ill or under tremendous psychological stress do not have nearly as much erection time during sleep. Men who have diseases that can cause serious erectile problems, such as diabetes, might not experience it at all. So men should consider waking up with a stiff soldier a sign they are in reasonably good physical health. \nIn fact, nocturnal erections can be a decent measure of a man's overall sexual health. If a man reports difficulty in becoming erect with a partner, a doctor can use a machine to monitor his nocturnal erections. The man goes to bed wearing a device that wraps around his penis and can detect when it becomes erect. The device measures the frequency and duration of the man's nocturnal erections, and stores the information in an attached electronic monitor. If the monitor reveals the man has "normal" nocturnal penile activity, the doctor can try to uncover other reasons, psychological or otherwise, for the man's inability to become erect with a partner. If, on the other hand, the monitor reveals the man experienced no nocturnal erections at all, the doctor needs to start checking for health problems that could cause an inability to "get it up."\nAnother contributing factor to morning erections is that most men have their highest levels of testosterone in the early morning hours. It's the higher hormone levels, not the man's dreams or nocturnal penile activity, that explain why many men report being most sexually aroused in the morning. Just for the record, arousal in dreamland is not a phenomenon exclusive to men. Sex researchers, at IU's Kinsey Institute and elsewhere, have found similar arousal responses in women by monitoring the changes in female genitalia during sleep.\nOne other finding of interest: A few curious researchers found that the number or intensity of nocturnal erections is in no way related to the frequency or quality of intercourse or level of satisfaction of a man's sex life. So do yourself a favor and don't try to use your boyfriend's nocturnal erections as an indicator of how satisfied he is with you.\nSend questions and comments to the Sexpert at jfinkel@indiana.edu
