Nitric Oxide And Morning Wood

barefooter

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I've read in several places that strong morning erection is a sign of good health and sex drive. However, I'm curious about the mechanism involved, and after thinking about nitric oxide recently, I began to wonder if that's the major player involved. From what Peat says, nitric oxide is like a backup for CO2, when CO2 production or retention is insufficient. Since metabolism falls during sleep, it would make sense that CO2 would drop, nitric oxide would increase, and this might be a primary factor in morning erection.

After doing some googling, many places mention nitric oxide in relation to morning erection, but it seems the mechanism for morning nitric oxide release is not fully understood, and I can't find anything tying it to reduced CO2. If morning erection is related to decreased CO2 and increased NO, wouldn't it be a sign of poorer health and metabolism, not better health?
 
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it seems morning erections are related to a very low part of the brain or even the spinal chord. It seems quite normal for men to have erections on and off during their sleep and is in fact related to both health AND sexual sensitivity. For men who have lost sensitivity due to porn or poor masturbation habits, they will often lose morning erections.
 

OrangeJuice

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ecstatichamster said:
it seems morning erections are related to a very low part of the brain or even the spinal chord. It seems quite normal for men to have erections on and off during their sleep and is in fact related to both health AND sexual sensitivity. For men who have lost sensitivity due to porn or poor masturbation habits, they will often lose morning erections.

Yes. THIS!

I can confirm this. I find that when i'm not physically active and coupled with much porn browsing my morning wood is non-existent. Now, when I start lifting weights again, being more active, not browsing porn anymore I tend to have morning wood again. I think it's that simple. Lastly, the key is deep restorative sleep which is easier for me when I'm getting 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, which usually is easier when I am physically active again lifting weights and consuming more calories. Maybe it's just stress relief and hormones increasing.
 

Brian

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I've noticed two types of morning wood. One I assume caused by stress. I awake feeling unrested and there's no feeling of libido associated with it. It would make sense that it is caused by nitric oxide release.

And then there's an androgenic type. The night's sleep felt deep and refreshing and I awake feeling positive with motivation and a high libido along with the erection. I assume this is caused by androgen production and release during the later sleep cycles.
 

sladerunner69

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barefooter said:
post 118209 I've read in several places that strong morning erection is a sign of good health and sex drive. However, I'm curious about the mechanism involved, and after thinking about nitric oxide recently, I began to wonder if that's the major player involved. From what Peat says, nitric oxide is like a backup for CO2, when CO2 production or retention is insufficient. Since metabolism falls during sleep, it would make sense that CO2 would drop, nitric oxide would increase, and this might be a primary factor in morning erection.

After doing some googling, many places mention nitric oxide in relation to morning erection, but it seems the mechanism for morning nitric oxide release is not fully understood, and I can't find anything tying it to reduced CO2. If morning erection is related to decreased CO2 and increased NO, wouldn't it be a sign of poorer health and metabolism, not better health?


What I have noticed after intentionally depleting NO through l-lysine supplementation is that, sorry to be rude, my erections are definitely not as strong plus my muscles dont get pumped as good when weight training and tha tmy overall vascularity is down a bit. However, overall I feel very relaxed and peleasant and I am mentally much more interested in sex and pursuing partners. So there you go, it's a give and take but I think lower NO is definitely worth it. Perhaps increasing CO2 with bag breathing would account for the diminished vascularity?? Soemthing to try next....
 
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RedLightMan

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OP, your theory may have something to it.
I always noticed the most significant morning wood after a night of heavy alcohol drinking. That must increase systemic NO. Seems like a common thing when you search on google (https://www.google.com/search?q=morning+erections+after+alcohol).

Red light on the perineum/scrotum area, the night before, also seems to give me strong morning wood. As far as I know, red light has some interaction with local NO too (photodissociating it from cytochrome c oxidase in mitochondria).
 

sladerunner69

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bigjoe said:
post 118233 OP, your theory may have something to it.
I always noticed the most significant morning wood after a night of heavy alcohol drinking. That must increase systemic NO. Seems like a common thing when you search on google (https://www.google.com/search?q=morning+erections+after+alcohol).

Red light on the perineum/scrotum area, the night before, also seems to give me strong morning wood. As far as I know, red light has some interaction with local NO too (photodissociating it from cytochrome c oxidase in mitochondria).


Considering alcohols estrogenic and serotinogenic effects, that really doesnt seem likely. Testosterone is pretty key in erections and is highly opposed by alcohol....
 
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BobbyDukes

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sladerunner69 said:
bigjoe said:
post 118233 OP, your theory may have something to it.
I always noticed the most significant morning wood after a night of heavy alcohol drinking. That must increase systemic NO. Seems like a common thing when you search on google (https://www.google.com/search?q=morning+erections+after+alcohol).

Red light on the perineum/scrotum area, the night before, also seems to give me strong morning wood. As far as I know, red light has some interaction with local NO too (photodissociating it from cytochrome c oxidase in mitochondria).


Considering alcohols estrogenic and serotinogenic effects, that really doesnt seem likely. Testosterone is pretty key in erections and is highly opposed by alcohol....

Hmm. I'm not sure it's as simple as that. I also notice increased libido after a night of drinking. Being a gaba agonist, the ensuing glutamatergic onslaught that follows a heavy drinking session (the neurotoxicity) would possibly contribute to increased interest in sex. Crystal Meth will also raise your interest in sex, but will fry your brain cells at the same time.

Peat has also said that increased estrogen can ramp up testosterone (as your body's way of comensating), so that might also explain any pro-libido effects.

My take on morning wood is that it might mean something. But who knows what it means. Way too many factors that come into play. My experience with DHEA has made me rethink my stance on libido. I have high libido, but when I take DHEA, I feel calm, peaceful, balanced and normal. However, no libido at all. Therefore, I think libido can often be created from a stressed state, and isn't necessarily indicative of thriving health, as everyone always says. I suppose having high libido is a high energy state, and potentially very taxing on an organism.
 
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RedLightMan

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sladerunner69 said:
post 118236 Considering alcohols estrogenic and serotinogenic effects, that really doesnt seem likely. Testosterone is pretty key in erections and is highly opposed by alcohol....
It definitely happens the morning after alcohol, strongest morning wood ever. I've heard theories about testosterone rebound, following the test drop caused by alcohol the previous night. Not sure though.

BobbyDukes said:
post 118243 My take on morning wood is that it might mean something. But who knows what it means. Way too many factors that come into play......can often be created from a stressed state
Agreed. Check this out:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8854067
Quote: "sleep deprivation induced an increase in penile tumescence (morning wood) and rigidity"

So lack of sleep can contribute to morning wood. Not sleeping is obviously stressful/anti-metabolic.
 
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James_001

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Brian said:
I've noticed two types of morning wood. One I assume caused by stress. I awake feeling unrested and there's no feeling of libido associated with it. It would make sense that it is caused by nitric oxide release.

And then there's an androgenic type. The night's sleep felt deep and refreshing and I awake feeling positive with motivation and a high libido along with the erection. I assume this is caused by androgen production and release during the later sleep cycles.

How do you get this second type on a regular basis?

I only get the first type regularly, and the second type on rare days I sleep well. I don't know what causes this to happen though, and I would like to as I feel great with the second type.
 
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I have noticed that I have better erections during partner sex when I don't wake up with morning wood...
 

Brian

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James_001 said:
How do you get this second type on a regular basis?

I only get the first type regularly, and the second type on rare days I sleep well. I don't know what causes this to happen though, and I would like to as I feel great with the second type.

Well since the main ingredients to the youth hormones are thyroid, vitamin A and cholesterol I would consider what might be disrupting any of these for your unique biochemistry. For me I noticed increased night time androgen release after focusing on high starch low fat with K2, magnesium and salt. The first thing I noticed was much lower cortisol, then a few weeks later eating beef started giving me Type 2 Morning Wood[sup]TM[/sup].

I think what was happening is my serum and soft tissue calcium was being lowered allowing zinc to transport more vitamin A.

In addition, I definitely notice circadian rhythm plays a huge role. Lots of morning and day time sun and going to bed around 10 PM improves my nighttime hormonal production and release. So anything that lowers cortisol, serotonin and the other stress hormones will help as well.
 

James_001

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Brian said:
post 118257
James_001 said:
How do you get this second type on a regular basis?

I only get the first type regularly, and the second type on rare days I sleep well. I don't know what causes this to happen though, and I would like to as I feel great with the second type.

Well since the main ingredients to the youth hormones are thyroid, vitamin A and cholesterol I would consider what might be disrupting any of these for your unique biochemistry. For me I noticed increased night time androgen release after focusing on high starch low fat with K2, magnesium and salt. The first thing I noticed was much lower cortisol, then a few weeks later eating beef started giving me Type 2 Morning Wood[sup]TM[/sup].

I think what was happening is my serum and soft tissue calcium was being lowered allowing zinc to transport more vitamin A.

In addition, I definitely notice circadian rhythm plays a huge role. Lots of morning and day time sun and going to bed around 10 PM improves my nighttime hormonal production and release.

Okay, thanks.

What are your k2 doses? I started using k2 and magnesium lately and have definitely seen improvements.

Do you think that high starch just brings the benefits of increased salt intake? Or is something else going on?

My biggest issue is that my metabolism is fine , but I still have low libido.

All I want is Type 2 Morning Wood[sup]TM[/sup] lol
 
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Brian

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James_001 said:
Okay, thanks.

What are your k2 doses? I started using k2 and magnesium lately and have definitely seen improvements.

Do you think that high starch just brings the benefits of increased salt intake? Or is something else going on?

My biggest issue is that my metabolism is fine , but I still have low libido.

All I want is Type 2 Morning Wood[sup]TM[/sup] lol

My best results with K2 were from Vitacost Ultra K2 or Life Extension Super K. Just one per day. I'm not really sure which form helps the most, but I suspect K2 Mk7 was pulling a lot of the weight.

I'm not really sure why starch worked better for me as my primary fuel at that time. I do better on more fructose and sucrose now, but back then maybe my endotoxin (from my poorer digestion) was interfering with my liver function? I also needed high salt and low fluids at the time, so that could have been it as well.

I also noticed that after using K2 for a couple months that magnesium baths became very effective at absorbing a lot at one time. I suppose from moving calcium out of the way. And that's when things really started to speed up. Magnesium seems to play a role in displacing heavy metals and creating an environment where copper and zinc are deposited in the right places.

Of course Ray Peat's method of supplementing thyroid and pregnenolone would probably be even faster and more effective, but I've never gone that route. I think both ways are legitimate.
 

James_001

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Brian said:
post 118260
James_001 said:
Okay, thanks.

What are your k2 doses? I started using k2 and magnesium lately and have definitely seen improvements.

Do you think that high starch just brings the benefits of increased salt intake? Or is something else going on?

My biggest issue is that my metabolism is fine , but I still have low libido.

All I want is Type 2 Morning Wood[sup]TM[/sup] lol

My best results with K2 were from Vitacost Ultra K2 or Life Extension Super K. Just one per day. I'm not really sure which form helps the most, but I suspect K2 Mk7 was pulling a lot of the weight.

I'm not really sure why starch worked better for me as my primary fuel at that time. I do better on more fructose and sucrose now, but back then maybe my endotoxin (from my poorer digestion) was interfering with my liver function? I also needed high salt and low fluids at the time, so that could have been it as well.

I also noticed that after using K2 for a couple months that magnesium baths became very effective at absorbing a lot at one time. I suppose from moving calcium out of the way. And that's when things really started to speed up. Magnesium seems to play a role in displacing heavy metals and creating an environment where copper and zinc are deposited in the right places.

Of course Ray Peat's method of supplementing thyroid and pregnenolone would probably be even faster and more effective, but I've never gone that route. I think both ways are legitimate.

Okay cool, yeah I tried the thyroid/pregnenolone route, but it didn't work that well.
 
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natedawggh

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sladerunner69 said:
post 118224
barefooter said:
post 118209 I've read in several places that strong morning erection is a sign of good health and sex drive. However, I'm curious about the mechanism involved, and after thinking about nitric oxide recently, I began to wonder if that's the major player involved. From what Peat says, nitric oxide is like a backup for CO2, when CO2 production or retention is insufficient. Since metabolism falls during sleep, it would make sense that CO2 would drop, nitric oxide would increase, and this might be a primary factor in morning erection.

After doing some googling, many places mention nitric oxide in relation to morning erection, but it seems the mechanism for morning nitric oxide release is not fully understood, and I can't find anything tying it to reduced CO2. If morning erection is related to decreased CO2 and increased NO, wouldn't it be a sign of poorer health and metabolism, not better health?


What I have noticed after intentionally depleting NO through l-lysine supplementation is that, sorry to be rude, my erections are definitely not as strong plus my muscles dont get pumped as good when weight training and tha tmy overall vascularity is down a bit. However, overall I feel very relaxed and peleasant and I am mentally much more interested in sex and pursuing partners. So there you go, it's a give and take but I think lower NO is definitely worth it. Perhaps increasing CO2 with bag breathing would account for the diminished vascularity?? Soemthing to try next....

I experienced this too for about four months, sometimes completely unable to stay hard (I was REALLY sick though) but the longer I've done it and h healthier I've gotten I've been getting even better erections than when I was younger. I think NO erections are a stress/backup erection for when the primary system fails. What it would be I don't know, but whereas NO erections don't feel as relaxed, and my body is jittery from stress hormones, on lysine when I am aroused it is just as strong but I feel relaxed all over.
 
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dibble

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BobbyDukes said:
post 118243
sladerunner69 said:
bigjoe said:
post 118233 OP, your theory may have something to it.
I always noticed the most significant morning wood after a night of heavy alcohol drinking. That must increase systemic NO. Seems like a common thing when you search on google (https://www.google.com/search?q=morning+erections+after+alcohol).

Red light on the perineum/scrotum area, the night before, also seems to give me strong morning wood. As far as I know, red light has some interaction with local NO too (photodissociating it from cytochrome c oxidase in mitochondria).


Considering alcohols estrogenic and serotinogenic effects, that really doesnt seem likely. Testosterone is pretty key in erections and is highly opposed by alcohol....

Hmm. I'm not sure it's as simple as that. I also notice increased libido after a night of drinking. Being a gaba agonist, the ensuing glutamatergic onslaught that follows a heavy drinking session (the neurotoxicity) would possibly contribute to increased interest in sex. Crystal Meth will also raise your interest in sex, but will fry your brain cells at the same time.

Peat has also said that increased estrogen can ramp up testosterone (as your body's way of comensating), so that might also explain any pro-libido effects.

My take on morning wood is that it might mean something. But who knows what it means. Way too many factors that come into play. My experience with DHEA has made me rethink my stance on libido. I have high libido, but when I take DHEA, I feel calm, peaceful, balanced and normal. However, no libido at all. Therefore, I think libido can often be created from a stressed state, and isn't necessarily indicative of thriving health, as everyone always says. I suppose having high libido is a high energy state, and potentially very taxing on an organism.

Alcohol significantly increases free roaming testosterone over the short term but decreases overall testosterone in the long run. Hence it making people horny.
 
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DaveFoster

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sladerunner69 said:
What I have noticed after intentionally depleting NO through l-lysine supplementation is that, sorry to be rude, my erections are definitely not as strong plus my muscles dont get pumped as good when weight training and tha tmy overall vascularity is down a bit. However, overall I feel very relaxed and peleasant and I am mentally much more interested in sex and pursuing partners. So there you go, it's a give and take but I think lower NO is definitely worth it.
This 100%. Very much worth it to be relaxed and focused all day long.
 

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