Erectile dysfunction is a sexual dysfunction that affects many men. In fact, over 50% of men over 50 will experience some form of moderate or mild erectile dysfunction in their lifetime.
The causes are varied: some men may experience this from hormonal imbalances, while others can develop it from negative sexual experiences.
If you're one looking for cures for erectile dysfunction, there are plenty of options. Unlike short-term solutions such as the Viagra, there are certain natural options that can have a longer-term impact.
Masturbation Practices
Masturbation is usually our starting point to learn about sexual pleasure. It's normal to revisit self-pleasure to try to understand your body better.
Masturbation is an effective tool for tackling sexual issues like erectile dysfunction. This is especially true for men who have struggled with erections for six months or longer.
Masturbation can help men to feel more comfortable with the natural loss of erection. Without a partner present, there's less pressure to maintain an erection and men can become comfortable (and confident!) that an erection will come back even if it wanes.
The Lover app includes a course that explains exactly how to use masturbation as a tool to address erectile dysfunction. Up to 80% of men who have tried the course have seen improvements in just six weeks!
Regular Exercise
Studies have shown that 23% of men who are inactive have erectile dysfunction. Health conditions like obesity, cardiovascular disease, and high blood pressure can dramatically increase the likelihood of developing erectile dysfunction.
Exercise is critical for keeping these health conditions at bay and supports healthy erectile functioning. Even for 30 minutes a day, making sure you aren’t sedentary all day can do wonders.
Healthy Eating
The food we eat impact our vascular health, vascular health impacts blood flow, and blood flow is vital for erections. It's all connected!
To support erectile functioning, it's important to eat foods that are high in nitric oxide: the ingredient that helps to keep your arteries flexible to maximize blood flow. Foods that are dense in nitric oxide include fruits, nuts and legumes. So, we want to be eating as much nitric oxide as possible! Interestingly, viagra also works in a similar way, so this is a great natural alternative for erectile dysfunction.
Berries are also packed with NO, so eat as much as these as you can!
Also, try and reduce your sugar intake.
Why? A diet high in sugar can cause an increase in toxins in the blood, which over time can damage the blood vessels.
Also, you’ve probably been told this before, but if you do have erectile dysfunction, you want to be avoiding alcohol and smoking. Alcohol in particular serves as a relaxant, and if your muscles are relaxed, gaining and maintaining an erection is a lot harder. Regardless of whether you have ED or not.
Pelvic Floor Exercises
The pelvic floor is the key muscle that helps to keep blood within the penis. So, keeping this muscle toned and fit will ensure you can retain as much blood as possible - where it needs to be.
So, we like to recommend to our users that they do their pelvic floor exercises daily. The great thing about the pelvic floor is that once it's nicely toned, you can also engage it during sex to help keep your erections hard.
Mindfulness Exercises
The majority of erectile dysfunction cases start because of one bad experience with losing an erection. The anxiety this then creates about future sexual experiences then exacerbates this problem - and erections plus anxiety do not go well.
So, mindfulness exercises are a great way to stop any anxious thoughts surrounding the loss of an erection. Which by the way is a totally normal and expected part of sex. In fact, a healthy man will lose his erection, on average, 3 - 4 times in a 30-minute sexual encounter.
Mindfulness techniques can help get you out of your head and back into your body - and this will help break that negative cycle of anxiety.
Download the Lover app today and start your journey to sexual wellness. We have various courses designed to solve sexual dysfunctions, from erectile dysfunction to low desire.