When you’re sexually aroused, your brain and blood vessels join forces to give you an erection. This erection should be hard enough for penetration.
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When you’re sexually aroused, your brain and blood vessels join forces to give you an erection. This erection should be hard enough for penetration.
But things don’t always go as planned. If you’re wondering how to get a harder erection, you may have to take a hard look at your lifestyle and make a few tweaks.
Below, we’ll dive into some of the easiest science-backed ways to get harder faster and improve your erection quality for a more fulfilling sex life.
Every year, tens of millions of men in the United States alone deal with some degree of erectile dysfunction (ED) or erection problems that prevent them from enjoying the sex life they deserve.
From stress and poor diet to circulation issues, there are many reasons why you may not be getting hard. And as you age, the risk of ED increases.
But these problems can also appear well before retirement. Statistics show that even though about 70 percent of men will experience ED by the age of 70, a staggering 40 percent of men will experience similar problems by the age of 40.
Some of the most common causes of ED include:
Medical conditions. There’s a connection between ED and certain health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, nerve issues, hormonal imbalances, spinal cord injuries, and Peyronie’s disease.
Medications. Some medications can contribute to ED. These include antidepressants, blood pressure medications, antihistamines, pain relievers, and chemotherapy drugs.
Mental health issues. Depression, anxiety (including performance anxiety), and low self-esteem can affect your erectile function.
Lifestyle habits. Certain lifestyle behaviors can lead to ED over time, such as a lack of exercise, smoking, drinking too much, and using illicit drugs.
Here’s a quick rundown of what triggers getting hard in the first place. There are two crucial parts to an erection: sexual stimulation (this could be visual, physical, or mental) and increased blood flow to the penis.
But these processes can go haywire if you’re not caring for your mind, body, and sexual health. Want to know how to get stronger erections? Try the following strategies to see improvement over time.
Reduce stress
Exercise regularly
Try Kegels
Follow a healthy diet
Incorporate amino acids into your diet
Limit alcohol intake
Quit smoking
Sleep more
Maintain a healthy weight
Check testosterone levels
Cut back on porn
Communicate with your partner
Explore new things in the bedroom
The question of how to get a harder erection quality has many answers, and some of them may not require much medical intervention if you’re willing to make changes. But many of these changes take time.
If you want to learn how to get an erection fast, there are medicinal options we’ll get to later, but before you meet with a healthcare provider to talk about medications, it’s essential to reflect on your lifestyle habits first. Do they align with general men’s health recommendations?
Let’s dig deeper into these lifestyle changes for erectile dysfunction and sexual performance.
Stress can affect almost every aspect of your health, from mental function to physical well-being. Stress can also affect your erections.
When you’re stressed, your body changes a hormonal level, including ramping up the production of the hormone cortisol. When your cortisol levels are chronically high, you may be at a higher risk of experiencing ED. People who experience performance anxiety and other psychological erectile problems know this all too well.
While few studies specifically track the effects of stress on erection quality, several studies link stress with poorer sexual satisfaction.
Some of the best stress reduction strategies include:
Staying active
Spending time with friends and family
Avoiding unhealthy habits
Prioritizing your mental health
Getting enough sleep
Doing a creative activity
Signing up for online therapy
Our guide to the psychological causes of ED goes into more detail on the effects that stress can have on your sex life, as well as ED treatment options.
Wondering how to get really hard? Head to the gym.
When it comes to erection quality, blood flow is the most important piece of the puzzle. It’s fair to say erections can’t happen without it.
When you’re aroused, blood flows into your penis to make it hard and firm enough for penetrative sex. That’s how erections work.
When your cardiovascular system is strong and healthy, the process of getting and maintaining an erection is easy for your body.
And what’s the best way to keep your cardiovascular system strong and healthy? That’s right — aerobic exercise!
One of the most effective ways to improve your heart health and sexual function is by staying active and getting regular exercise. Luckily, you don’t have to go crazy.
In a meta-analysis published in the journal Sexual Medicine, researchers found that 40 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise four times a week is enough to reduce erectile dysfunction.
However, this effect only occurred in men who experienced ED as a result of physical conditions such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, inactivity, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease.
Generally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend adults get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week — a little over 20 minutes per day.
One exercise you might consider adding to your routine doesn’t have to be done at the gym. Kegels help both men and women strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, which can help prevent problems (like urinary incontinence) in the future.
They’re also great practice for premature ejaculation (PE), so they could be a part of a plan to increase your stamina while boosting your erection quality.
Yes, even what you eat at the dinner table every night can affect how you perform in the bedroom. A healthy diet is essential for sexual performance.
Erectile dysfunction is closely linked to high blood pressure. Common foods that contribute to high blood pressure when eaten in excess include deli meats, canned foods, fast food, and other foods high in sodium.
What foods improve erectile function? A diet rich in fish, nuts, legumes, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fresh ingredients, and unsaturated fats may help keep your blood pressure healthy. The Mediterranean diet is a great example.
A particular dietary element might also improve your erection quality: amino acids.
L-citrulline and L-arginine are vasodilators. While they may not work as well as medication, according to some research, getting them from foods like melon and cucumbers, fish, meat, grains, and dairy can help your body function more effectively. If you don’t have access to various foods, you can also get these important nutrients from supplements.
In addition to food, alcohol consumption can hurt your erectile health and sexual performance.
While a glass or two of wine or beer isn’t likely to hurt your erection quality, studies show a clear link between chronic and persistent alcohol use and sexual dysfunction.
You don’t have to quit drinking in moderation (unless you want to), but pumping the brakes on alcohol consumption when you’re planning to get intimate could help you get harder erections.
Smoking is bad for you. You already knew that. But did you know that smoking is also bad for your erectile health?
The nicotine in cigarettes can cause your blood vessels to narrow, reducing the amount of blood that can flow into the soft tissue of your penis when you’re sexually aroused. This means slower, weaker erections and a higher risk of losing your erection during sex due to poor blood flow.
Smoking also contributes to atherosclerosis or plaque buildup inside your arteries. This further reduces your cardiovascular health and harms blood flow, increasing your risk of getting heart disease and erectile dysfunction.
If you smoke and have ED, it’s crucial to think about quitting smoking to improve your health and boost your sexual performance.
Many American adults don’t get enough sleep.
And there’s a link between not getting enough shut-eye every night and higher stress levels. Since stress can affect your sex drive and sexual performance… Well, you see what we’re getting at.
Previously, researchers thought that sleep deprivation caused testosterone levels to drop in men. But, a recent study that analyzed sleep restriction and its impact on testosterone levels concluded that there were no adverse effects on testosterone levels in the healthy young men involved.
Nevertheless, a lack of sleep can negatively impact your sexual health. Your doctor can provide medical advice on sleep disorders, especially if your sleep issues are severe or chronic.
Being overweight can cause erectile problems. In a study out of Poland, researchers found that men with a body mass index (BMI) in the obese range were three times more likely to experience sexual dysfunction than their average-sized counterparts.
Even being overweight but not obese can increase your risk of ED. In the same study, men with a BMI in the overweight range were 1.5 times more likely to develop ED.
Maintaining a healthy body weight is one proven way to improve your erectile function and sexual performance, as well as reduce your risk of developing certain health conditions like type 2 diabetes.
Low testosterone in men can lead to several problems, including low sex drive, difficulty sleeping, and, you guessed it, erection problems.
If you’re starting to experience low testosterone symptoms, talk to a healthcare professional and see about doing a testosterone levels test to check your hormones.
If you’re suffering from a deficiency, hormone therapy can help you increase your testosterone, which can help reverse symptoms within four to six weeks.
Porn is safe and healthy (and very normal!) in moderation, but if you get to a point where you’re watching too much of it, some experts think it can interfere with the pleasure receptors in your brain. Yes, really.
Porn-induced erectile dysfunction occurs when your porn habits start to interfere with the parts of your brain associated with reward sensitivity. As you can probably guess, this can affect your sexual performance and reduce your brain’s response to sexual stimulation.
In a recent study published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior, researchers found that watching porn (among other online sexual activities, or OSAs) was closely linked to both lower overall sexual satisfaction and lower erectile function.
The solution? Consider limiting your porn consumption or avoiding porn outright if you want to get or maintain an erection.
We get it. Talking about erectile problems can be uncomfortable. But it’s important to keep in mind that the adverse effects of ED can affect both you and your partner. And it’s essential to talk openly about what’s happening below the belt.
Openly communicating about what you both need can help you have the best sex possible.
Speaking of communication, don’t be afraid to experiment with your partner. After all, it’s not just older men who sometimes struggle to get hard. Younger men can face the same issues.
Sometimes, you can solve those issues by figuring out exactly what excites you.
Some fun ways to mix things up in the bedroom include:
Playing dress-up
Giving each other massages
Playing with sex toys
If you have date plans later tonight and are worried you may not rise to the occasion, some of the tips mentioned above may even help you get an erection as soon as possible.
For instance, if you’re dealing with stress or performance anxiety, you can try breathing techniques or a quick meditation session before the big moment. You can also make sure not to eat a meal high in fat or drink too much alcohol beforehand.
Erections are also about being sexually stimulated, whether it’s physical stimulation (touching yourself or how your partner touches you), mental stimulation (arousing thoughts), or visual stimulation (erotic images or videos).
Talk to your partner about what turns you on and how you like to be touched. Or let them know there’s something you want to try that you think might get you sexually stimulated and ready for action. This can be a good foreplay idea to get both of you in the mood while preparing your penis for action.
The last option to consider for getting hard is not a cure, but it does work fast: ED medication.
In many cases, men think they want to get hard really fast, but they actually want to stay hard longer. Medications may help you do that.
Changes to your lifestyle can help with some causes of erectile dysfunction. But if you have ED, you’ll often get the best results by combining lifestyle changes with prescription drugs.
And that journey starts with a doctor’s appointment. Currently, there are four FDA-approved ED medications:
Sildenafil (sold as Viagra®)
Tadalafil (Cialis®)
Vardenafil (Levitra®)
Avanafil (Stendra®)
These treatment options are called PDE5 inhibitors. Doctors commonly prescribe them for erectile dysfunction. In some cases, they’re also FDA-approved to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
These drugs work by inhibiting PDE5, an enzyme responsible for regulating blood flow to the soft tissues inside your penis. You take them orally, anywhere from 15 minutes to a few hours before sex.
Our guide to what you should expect from ED medication explains how these medications work in more detail. Here’s a brief rundown of how they work:
Sildenafil is the most widely used of the four FDA-approved oral erectile dysfunction medications.
You can find sildenafil sold under the brand name Viagra, though it’s now available as a generic medication. Brand-name Viagra and generic sildenafil work in the same way and cause the same improvements in sexual performance.
Sildenafil takes around 30 minutes to one hour to start fully working, meaning you’ll want to take it at least that amount of time before you plan to have sex. The effects of this medication wear off after about four hours.
Tadalafil is another popular medication for improving your erections and helping you to stay hard during sex.
You can find tadalafil sold under the brand name Cialis and as a generic medication.
Compared to sildenafil, tadalafil is a long-lasting erectile dysfunction drug. Its effects last for up to 36 hours per dose, making it an option worth considering if you want to treat ED and improve your sexual performance for one or a couple of days at a time. In fact, it’s sometimes called “the weekend pill.”
Vardenafil is another PDE5 inhibitor with similar effects to sildenafil. It starts working within one hour but lasts slightly longer than sildenafil, with effects usually starting to wear off after around five hours.
You can find vardenafil sold under Levitra or as a generic medication.
Avanafil is the new ED medication on the block. The FDA approved it in 2012 as an alternative to sildenafil, tadalafil, and other PDE5 inhibitors.
Currently, avanafil is only available under the brand name Stendra. Since it’s a new medication for ED, a generic version isn’t on the market yet.
Avanafil starts working faster than other ED medications, and you can take it just 15 minutes before sex, which means you can quickly be ready for intimacy.
It’s also less likely to cause certain side effects than older ED medications, as it targets fewer PDE enzymes.
Our guide to Stendra explains more about how avanafil works and its advantages over other ED drugs.
The list of possible ways to treat ED doesn’t stop there. There are injectable and intraurethral medications for ED, including alprostadil, BiMix, TriMix, and QuadMix.
Beyond these, the FDA has recently authorized a non-medicated, non-prescription topical gel for the treatment of ED that you rub on the head of your penis.
Vacuum erectile devices and penis rings are non-medication options for ED. And for those with severe ED, surgery may be an option.
How to get an erection and improve sexual performance — whether that means learning how to get hard quick, last longer, or have a more enjoyable time in bed — involves several factors:
Physical. Work on improving your overall health, especially your cardiovascular function.
Mental. Concentrate on your psychological health by addressing any anxiety, depression, lack of self-confidence, or mental health issues.
Habitual. Develop healthy habits by following a nutritious diet, engaging in more physical activity, and avoiding alcohol, tobacco, and street drugs.
Scientific. Use science-based medications and other ED treatments. A medical professional can prescribe several safe and effective medicines for dealing with ED.
Since no two people are the same, your path to better sexual performance and better erections could involve making changes to one, two, three, or all four of these things.
If you’re interested in taking action against ED, get medical advice from a healthcare professional today to learn about your options.
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