Fact Checked 
Morning wood and morning erections are both normal and common. So too are nighttime erections.
A lot of men will experience both morning glory, also known as nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT) and erections in the night. In fact, it’s likely that if you wake up with morning wood, this is only the last erection in a series of erections you’ve experienced in the night.
They are, simply, spontaneous erections that occur while you sleep or as you wake up.
On this page, we’ll discuss why morning erections happen and the science behind them, what’s normal and what’s more unusual, and whether there’s a link between morning glory and erectile dysfunction.
Morning glory is a colloquial phrase for morning erections or morning wood, meaning to wake with an erection. Erections can also happen in the night without you even being aware.
But why do men have erections in the morning and what causes morning wood? Unfortunately, the causes of morning erections are not fully understood, and are thought to be linked to a number of things. But there are some popular theories:
It’s probably easier to rule out what doesn’t cause morning glory. Some people believe erections happen at night time as a mechanism to prevent urination while we sleep, but this isn’t true. Experts are also confident that nighttime erections are not related to dreams.
Whatever the reason, most medical professionals and sexual health experts agree that morning and nighttime erections are not only normal, but may actually be indicative of good health and that everything is working as it should be.
For the average, healthy man, morning glory, or NPT, happens regularly and is common. However, some men find that they don’t often wake with an erection and this is also usually nothing to worry about. This is because erections might have occurred several times in the night, you just haven’t woken with one.
However, if you think you rarely, if ever, get morning glory or erections in the night, this could point to a more serious health problem and it might be worth taking up with your doctor. But don’t forget, the older you are, the less likely you will be to experience morning erections. As they happen less with age.
For the average healthy man, NPT can happen between three and five times a night, and last between 25 and 35 minutes at a time.
When you wake up, you become aware of what’s happening around you. So, if you need to get up and start your day, your erection should subside after roughly half an hour. If you notice that you’re still hard after two hours, and you feel pain or swelling, you should consider seeing a medical professional.
What if I don’t get morning erections: is that normal?
If you sometimes wake up with no morning erection or don’t have morning wood, this is usually nothing to worry about. It could just be that you were asleep when your erection subsided.
However, if you don’t have morning wood at all, don’t think you get nighttime erections or you’ve stopped getting morning wood, this could potentially point to a problem such as erectile dysfunction.
Morning erections are usually nothing to worry about, and may actually prove that everything is in working order. Morning wood means good health in a lot of instances.
However, it can become a problem if you have morning wood that doesn’t go away and feels painful or swollen. This is known as priapism, and can be caused by certain medications such as blood-thinning treatments, antidepressants, blood pressure medicines and recreational drug use. It can also be caused by certain health conditions including blood disorders.
As a rule of thumb, if you have an erection that lasts for more than two hours and it feels painful or swollen (regardless of whether you’ve taken ED medication) call 999 or get to A&E.
However, priapism should normally start to get better within two hours. Here are some tips on how to get rid of morning wood:
Yes, it’s perfectly normal to get erections during the night. In fact, it demonstrates that everything is working as it should – that the blood vessels in the penis are healthy, and so too is the vascular system which delivers blood to the muscle responsible for erections. Night time erections are also common, affecting most men three to five times a night.
Men who get erections during sleep are generally considered to be in ‘good erectile health’. Furthermore, ‘since good heart health is associated with an ability to have erections, the presence of nocturnal erections is generally accepted to be good news.’ So if you think you may be sleeping with an erection, or you’ve found yourself waking up with one, you have nothing to worry about.
Simply, nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT) is the scientific name for morning erections or morning glory. NPT is a phenomenon occurring in men where they experience one or several erections during the night, and is often associated with the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep.
The general consensus among experts and researchers is that nocturnal erections are nothing to worry about. Because erections depend on good heart and cardiovascular health, getting them at night or as you wake up is more than likely a positive sign.
However, you should see a doctor after 2 hours if you have an erection that doesn’t go away and is painful, or after 4 hours with an erection where there is no pain.
If you experience erectile dysfunction and the causes are physical, such as blood vessel damage, circulation problems or issues with the heart, then it is likely you won’t experience NPT, or morning erections. This is because the cause of your ED makes it physically difficult to get an erection regardless of the time and whether you’re asleep or not.
If you don’t ever experience morning erections, this isn’t to say you don’t experience NPT while you sleep. The NHS are one of several health services to have created an NPT test that can be performed to ascertain whether you were erect in the night.
Here’s how it works. One electronic ring is placed at the base of the penis, and a second at the tip. These devices record movement and monitor nocturnal erections. They can even show how many you had, for how long and how rigid they were.
NPT tests can be useful because they can help to decipher the type of erectile dysfunction a person may be suffering with. Specifically, an NPT test could separate physical ED from ED that is psychological in nature.
For example – take a healthy young man who struggles with something like depression and is unable to perform sexually and become erect because of this. While he sleeps, he may still experience healthy erections because he is no longer conscious of his mental health illness while he’s asleep.
So if you have morning wood but still have ED, this could be a sign that your erectile dysfunction symptoms are more psychological than physical.
It’s possible to experience erectile dysfunction and NPT at the same time. This is particularly true if ED symptoms are caused physically, from things like poor heart health or conditions which may impact the vascular system and circulation.
However, if you never wake up with a morning erection, it’s impossible to say with certainty that you didn’t experience any erections while you slept. For that reason, it can be worth discussing an NPT test with your doctor.
If you want to learn more about the link between NPT, morning glory and erectile dysfunction, or you have questions about your ED symptoms, you can get help right here at Treated. Talk to us about your health and our registered clinicians and sexual health experts will help you find solutions and treatments that work for you.
Health Check: why men wake up with erections. The Conversation. [Accessed 19 Aug. 2021].
Priapism (painful erections).[Accessed 19 Aug. 2021].
5 penis facts. [Accessed 19 Aug. 2021].
Study on Nocturnal Penile Tumescence (NPT) and age-related changes in healthy males. The Japanese Journal of Urology, 85(10), pp.1502–1510.
How we source info.
Have a subject you’d like us to cover in a future article? Let us know.
We're making healthcare more about you. Sign up to our newsletter for personalised health articles that make a difference.
Disclaimer: The information provided on this page is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any questions or concerns about your health, please talk to a doctor.
(And leave your email too, so we can let you know if we write an article based on your suggestion.)
If there’s a particular treatment or condition you’re looking for, tell us and we’ll look into it for you.
Submit your question here, or tell us if you’ve found an issue on our site.
We’ll get back to you very soon. We aim to respond to all queries in one working day.
You’re signed up to our newsletter. Keep an eye on your inbox for our latest update.
By clicking 'Subscribe now' you're agreeing to our Privacy Policy.
