Sorry if this question has been asked previously.
What is the cause for “morning wood”.
The obvious answer is the need to urinate, but is that really why? Or is it just a coincidence?
Also, is there a female analog to this?
Yes, the bladder puts pressure on the prostate.
So what’s wrong with me, that I don’t get an erection every time I need to urinate?
A full bladder is coincidental with morning erection, but probably not the actual cause.
From http://www.themarriagebed.com/male-plumbing-nopics.shtml :
Nocturnal erections occur during all male dreams (regardless of what the dream is about), unless the man has physical problems (this is the easiest way to determine if impotence is physical or emotional in nature). The so called “morning erection” is the result of being wakened during, or just after a dream; and it can be a very persistent erection.
I’m sure I recall my doctor telling me that it’s just a kind of “systems check” performed by the body during the night, just to keep everything running… of course, he could have been talking through his hat.
So do women get the equivalent? Hmm, perhaps I should ask Mrs K next time the subject… uh, comes up.
This sheds some more light on it. Apparently there is a female equivalent.
From http://drjanellcarroll.com/questions2.html :
Men’s penises (and women’s clitorises) become erect during a part of sleep known as the REM (rapid eye movement) cycle. Some physiologists have suggested that nighttime erections help keep the cells of the penis supplied with blood. Both men and women cycle into REM sleep many times each night, and often we are in a REM cycle right before we wake up. That is why men often awaken with an erection. Some men believe that having a full bladder makes the morning erection firmer and makes it last longer, though there is little medical evidence for this.
Ok, I accept the pressure of the bladder on the prostate explanations and all that. But please can someone explain why morning wood ALWAYS happens just before your stop when you’re sat at the very back of the bus??!!
Somewhat irrelevent question: If I go to the bathroom right before I go to sleep, why do I have to go again when I wake up? I don’t eat or drink anything while I sleep, to my knowledge.
You may be sleeping, but your kidneys are working. And while they will get rid of excess water through urination, their main function is to excrete certain waste products. Some of these are produced through your body’s metabolism, which is a constant process.
This page, and its related links, probably explain it in more detail than you want: http://health.howstuffworks.com/kidney6.htm