Dear Dr G,

I’m a 25-year-old dealing with the embarrassing issue of morning wood.

While I understand that morning erections are a normal part of sexual maturity for young men, I feel that the frequency or intensity of mine might be a bit unusual.

Since I was a teenager, I started getting morning erections that occasionally wake me up before sunrise.

I sometimes find it uncomfortable and need to relieve the tension through masturbation. What concerns me is that this has become a routine habit before sunrise due to the intensity of morning arousal.

I still get spontaneous erections throughout the mornings and sometimes well into the afternoon.

I even get erections with tight jeans and underpants, and it can be quite embarrassing when strangers in college notice it.

My friends tell me it is unusual to have such persistent erections and persuaded me to seek medical help.

My doctor was not so emphatic and brushed off my concerns. In fact, he even told me a good erection is a barometer of good health.

What exactly is the purpose of morning wood and what does it indicate about the state of health of the individual?

Do you agree that frequent erections are a barometer of good health?

Is it a sign of something wrong and can this lead to future compromises?

Thank you so much for your answers.

Yours truly,

Woody Winston

THE spontaneous hardening of the penis during sleep or moment of waking up is known as NPT (Nocturnal Penile Tumescence) but also colloquially termed as “morning wood” or “morning glory.” The spontaneous erection is a physiological manifestation in all healthy men.

Morning glory is not limited to young, sexually mature males; baby boys and male fetuses also experience it. This phenomenon is common among male mammals in the animal kingdom.

The spontaneous erections occur predominantly during sleep, as a healthy man gets between three to five erections during the night each lasting 25 to 35 minutes. As the last of the series of the hard-on occurs just before the waking moment, the salute is commonly greeted as “morning glory”. The exact physiological role of morning erection is unknown.

One theory is NPT is linked to our sleep cycle, as erections tend to begin as our body shifts to REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep cycle, and deflates as the transition of deep sleep begins. The association of testosterone and morning erections is also being examined in detail. The hormone plays a role driving sexual desires and libido, and the surges of testosterone to its daily peaks in the early hours of the mornings also contribute to the “morning greetings” in young men. As the levels of testosterone declines in aging men, the reduction of frequency and intensity of morning wood is also duly noted.

In most cases, every man should breathe a sigh of relief and self congratulate when greeted with morning glory. The spontaneous morning erection is indeed a barometer of manhood working up to par. The ability of achieving strong optimal erections requires healthy obstruction-free blood vessels, unimpaired nerve supply of the penis and copious amounts of testosterone. In short, the rock-hard morning greetings generally reflect a rocking tip top state of health.

On the contrary, unhealthy men with health issues such as diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension and obesity may notice diminishing morning erections in the early stages of the disease. As their medical conditions progress, many men would eventually encounter additional problems of erectile dysfunction. Experts would even argue a broken “hard” is an early sign of a broken “heart”. One study highlighted that two-third of men presented with heart attack had already presented to their doctors with erectile dysfunction, at least 18 months before the cardiac event. The researcher, Montorsi explained the diameter of the penile artery would get blocked with vessel hardenings prior to the blockages of larger vessels such as the coronary arteries. Therefore, morning wood and the rigidity of the penis indeed is a barometer of good health.

Don’t resist them as that only creates anxiety. Let the blood flow naturally down under in whatever way they like, keeping the overall health in check. On that note, Dr G wishes all a glorious 2025 ahead!