The penis is truly a remarkable organ. It is the only organ that can alter its shape, size, and constitution in a matter of nanoseconds. But without taking much care of it, we assume that it will continue to perform for us.
Unfortunately, the penis’s ability to do its job is impacted by many health factors and, without care, it will become less effective with each passing decade.
The good news is that you can maintain sexual health and a healthy functioning penis throughout your life. With a little work, you can even improve your sexual health and performance. Here are 10 tips to improve male sexual health.
1. Maintain A Healthy Weight
Obesity literally steals your manhood and reduces testosterone levels in the body. Abdominal fat converts your male hormone testosterone to the female hormone estrogen. You are also more likely to have fatty plaque deposits, which clog up your blood vessels, from the artery to the penis, making it harder to get and maintain a good-quality erection.
2. Eat Wholesome And Natural Foods
Wholesome and natural foods prevent the build-up of harmful plaque deposits within your blood vessels that compromise blood flow to the penis. Poor dietary choices with meals that are calorie-laden and nutritionally empty create clogged arteries and greatly impact sexual function.
3. Minimize Stress
Stress causes the release of the hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Adrenaline narrows blood vessels, which negatively impacts erections. If you ever have experienced “performance anxiety,” it was mostly because of adrenaline release in response to nervousness.
Excessive cortisol secretion, which helps drive your appetite, causes the accumulation of unhealthy belly fat.
4. Eliminate Tobacco
In addition to causing cancer, tobacco narrows your blood vessels, impairs blood flow, decreases the supply of oxygen, and also promotes inflammation, compromising every organ in your body.
5. Consume Alcohol In Moderation
In small amounts, alcohol can alleviate anxiety and act as a vasodilator (increases blood flow) and can actually improve erectile function. But in large amounts, it can be a major risk factor for erectile dysfunction.
6. Sleep Well
Sleeping has a vital restorative function as your brain and body requires this important down time. Sleep deprivation causes a disruption in endocrine, metabolic, and immune functions, resulting leptin levels (your appetite suppressant), increased ghrelin levels (your appetite stimulant), increased cortisol, and increased glucose levels (higher amounts of sugar in the bloodstream). If you are exhausted, your penis is going to be weary as well.
7. Exercise Regularly
Exercise has a remarkable effect on sexual function. It reduces stress, improves your mood, prevents fatigue, and increases energy. In the long term, it will reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, some cancers, osteoporosis, chronic medical problems, and physical disability.
Exercise makes your heart a better and stronger pump, your blood vessels more elastic, and your muscles better able at using oxygen. Exercises that work out the muscles involved in sex – the core muscles, the external rotators of the hip, and the all important pelvic floor muscles – will improve your performance.
8. Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor Muscles
The pelvic floor muscles play a vital role with respect to both erections and ejaculation. When you are sexually stimulated, the pelvic floor muscles activate and engage to maintain penile rigidity and a skyward-angling erection.
These muscles are responsible not only for getting the stimulated penis from a tumescent state (plump with blood) to a state of bone-like rigidity but also for maintaining that rigid state and for being the “motor” of ejaculation.
Numerous scientific studies have documented the benefits of pelvic exercises, known as “Kegels,” in the management of erectile dysfunction.
9. Stay Sexually Active
Use your penis. You can help keep it in good shape by using it regularly. Scientific studies have clearly demonstrated that men who are more sexually active tend to have fewer problems with erectile dysfunction as they age.
10. Maintain A Healthy Relationship
It takes two to tango, so relationship harmony factors strongly into good sexual functioning just as discord and interpersonal issues can profoundly contribute to ED. The mind-body connection is of immense importance in sexual function.
