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Erectile dysfunction rates have
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increased from 5% in 1999 to 34% in
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2018. The most intense part of this data
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is this is all for men under 40. I
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repeat, men under 40 are suffering from
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increased erectile dysfunction at rates
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we have never seen before. A recent
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study found that by 2025, this year, 322
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million men are expected to have
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erectile dysfunction, up from 152
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million men in 1995. Another study found
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young men are buying boner medication
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like Seialis and Viagra at the highest
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rates we've ever seen. So, what is the
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reason that in general penises are
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softening? It's hard to wrap your head
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around, or should I say soft to wrap
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your head around. Okay, let's get into
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the science of why erectile dysfunction
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is defined as the inability to achieve
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or maintain a sufficient erection to
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engage in sexual intercourse. To be
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honest, getting an erection is hard. I'm
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not going to make any more hard jokes.
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It requires complex coordination between
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your endocrine system, your nervous
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system, the vascule of your body and
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your penis. Therefore, many things can
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go wrong along the way. In general,
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there are two specific types of erectile
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dysfunction. Physiological ED. This can
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be due to damaged or aged vascule in the
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penis, hormonal issues, drug induced,
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etc. Or you can have psychological ED.
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This is the most common type for young
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people right now. More on that later.
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Let's start with some fascinating
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reasons for physiological ED. One
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shocking reason is due to decreased
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smooth muscle growth and arterial
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insufficiency in the penis and guch due
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to biking. A survey of 160 cyclists on a
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Norwegian bicycle tour found 21% had
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penile numbness with 13% experiencing
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temporary impetence. A more recent
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cross-sectional study found that men who
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ride bikes more than 3 hours per week
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have an increased risk of developing
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physiological erectile dysfunction. As
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someone who bikes about an hour a day,
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that's seven hours a week, that's more
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than three hours a week. Um, I'm a
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little bit worried about this
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information. These were small studies.
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I'm going to choose to live in
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ignorance, continue to pedal, and slam
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my gu against that bike seat.
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Physiological ED can also be caused by
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smoking or vaping. I found five large
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studies on how smoking is a risk factor
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for developing physiological ED. And
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when it comes to vaping, one reason why
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young men are having more erectile
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dysfunction, some scientists think, is
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due to the trend in young men vaping.
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This is because vaping can mess up the
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vascule of your dick. Nicotine is a
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strong vaso constrictor. Therefore, it
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can significantly reduce blood flow to
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the male and female genitals during
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sexual activity. This may also be why
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young women are suffering from lower
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libido rates as well. For example, a
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survey found 32% of women aged 18 to 29
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had a lack of sexual desire, 26% were
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unable to achieve orgasm, and 19% had
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trouble lubricating. Some scientists
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think this could be linked to the
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increased consumption of nicotine in
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younger people. And then there's the
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weed smoking. Scared. One study found a
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70% prevalence of ED in those using
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cannabis. That's an extremely high
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number. Also a very small study. Going
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to choose to live in ignorance. Again,
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I'm not going to live in ignorance. This
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is serious information. It does show
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that high doses of cannabis can cause
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vascular erectile dysfunction because
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there are canabonoid receptors in the
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hypothalamus of your brain which THC
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binds to. But this is also a part of the
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brain involved in regulating erectile
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dysfunction. These receptors being
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affected during the consumption of weed
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may lead to a change in regulation of
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erections. There is a lot of research
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happening into cannabis and erectile
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dysfunction right now because again we
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see young men are having ED and young
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men are also consuming more cannabis
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than ever before. Diet is also a
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contributor to ED. One study found that
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lower consumption of fruits and
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vegetables increased the risk of ED with
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some studies showing the rise in young
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men partaking in keto or all meat diets
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causing increased erectile dysfunction.
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In order to lower your risk of ED, one
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study found that consuming at least 150
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gram of vegetables, 300 g of fruits, and
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30 g of nuts per day can lead to a
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decrease in erectile dysfunction. The
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reason for this is that these foods are
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more likely to contain nutrients that
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reduce endothelial dysfunction and
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inflammation. Another study found that
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men who partake in the Mediterranean
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diet are more sexually active. Although
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there aren't really any ways to
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understand if this diet is exactly the
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reason for the sexual activity, there's
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a lot of other variables involved. Drugs
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such as ecstasy and ketamine can lead to
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physiological ED as well. And opioid
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users are eight times more likely to get
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erectile dysfunction compared to
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non-users. This is because opioids can
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block gonadotropen releasing hormone
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decreasing testosterone in men. In
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general, lower testosterone levels can
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be linked to erectile dysfunction. And
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this could be part of the reason why as
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you age, you're more likely to get ED.
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One study found there was a four-fold
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increase in ED in men in their 70s
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compared to their 20s with 52% of men
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between the ages of 40 to 70 having
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erectile dysfunction. As you age,
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testosterone levels can decrease,
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sometimes to the point that you need
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androgen replacement therapy. It's
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important as you age to get your hormone
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levels checked, especially if you're
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feeling lethargic, depressed, you have
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low libido. These are reasons you could
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talk to your doctor and get your hormone
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levels tested. To deal with erectile
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dysfunction as you age, androgen therapy
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and seialis and Viagra, erectile
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dysfunction meds like that can work
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together to get your boner back. Alcohol
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is also a significant contributor to ED,
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but there's a curve of linear effect to
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moderate drinking. One drink per day or
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less than seven drinks a week had a
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lower prevalence of erectile dysfunction
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compared to non-drinkers. This may be
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linked to alcohol's positive impact on
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the psychological aspects of erectile
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dysfunction. So now let's talk about the
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elephant in the room. The other reason
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why people are getting erectile
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dysfunction at younger age is due to
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psychological issues. Psychological ED
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is more common in younger men. Usually
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these men are able to get erections in
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the morning. They can get
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self-stimulated erections throughout the
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day and even get erections at the
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beginning of sexual intercourse with a
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partner. But the issues come when having
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to maintain that erection throughout the
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duration of sex. Essentially,
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psychological ED is more likely to occur
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when you can get an erection at the
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start of sex with a partner, but it goes
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away and you can't get it back. Most
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psychological ED cases are attributed to
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anxiety or depression and the
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psychological ideology that comes with
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both. It is likely that the stress from
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anxiety and depression raises cortisol
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levels, increasing vascular resistance
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and leading to erectile dysfunction in
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this younger population. There also
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could be other reasons as well. Some
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researchers trace the pattern of
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increased erectile dysfunction since the
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1990s to the increased use and access to
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pornography online since the 1990s as
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well. One paper from 2015 found erectile
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problems may occur when real life sexual
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stimulation does not match the broad
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visual sexual stimuli of online
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pornography. Essentially, when porn
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becomes your main source of sexual
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stimulation, when you end up having sex
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with someone in real life, you're not
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able to maintain an erection because it
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doesn't match your normal sexual
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stimuli. A study in China also found
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that early porn use was associated with
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changes in reproductive hormone levels
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and semen quality. There's a lot of
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other psychological studies, less like
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hard science studies, about the impacts
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of culture, the internet, social media
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on young people's ability to feel
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validated and sexually fulfilled. That's
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a much more complicated psychological
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concept. You can go to our podcast Side
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Note by ASAP Science to see our episodes
00:07:23
more on that. But it turns out that
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cohabiting with a partner is actually a
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good way to help with psychological ED.
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The exact reasons are unsure, but one
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metaanalysis and large survey found that
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men who do not cohabitate with a
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romantic partner are more likely to have
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psychological ED. This information is
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fascinating to me. It's hard to read
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like Nature magazine right now without
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reading about this increase in erectile
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dysfunction. I wanted to get to the
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bottom of it. Also, as a millennial
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biker who slams my Gucci, I really
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needed to understand that information.
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But this is important that we talk about
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this as sexual health. Share this with
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your friends, your family. It could be
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an awkward share, but also it doesn't
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have to be. There's a lot more science
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happening right now in the realm of this
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area, so we'll make more videos as it
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comes in. Thank you so much for
00:08:04
watching. Make sure you're subscribed,
00:08:06
smash that like button, and we'll see
00:08:08
you soon for a new science video.
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Awesome. Peace.
