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Everything You Need to Know About Morning Wood

Medically reviewed by Jillian Foglesong Stabile MD, FAAFP, DABOM — Written by Kimberly Holland — Updated on July 18, 2025

Causes
Who has it
If it stops
Medical attention
Takeaway

Nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT), or “morning wood,” is a natural bodily occurrence. It’s healthy at any age and is a sign of a properly functioning blood and nervous system in and around the penis.

From time to time, you may wake up with an erect penis. This is known as “morning wood,” or nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT). It’s most common among adolescents, although people of all ages may experience NPT.

Many people assume a morning erection is a sign of sexual stimulation. However, this is not always the case.

What causes morning wood?

The cause of NPT is likely dependent on many factors. Doctors have a few theories that help explain why people wake up with an erect penis from time to time, but none of these theories are supported by concrete medical evidence.

These theories include:

Physical stimulation

Though your eyes are shut, your body is still aware of what’s happening around you. If you or a partner accidentally touches or grazes your genitals, your penis may become erect. Your body senses the stimulation and responds with an erection.

Hormone shifts

Your testosterone level is highest in the morning after you wake up, especially if you wake from the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep stage.

The increase in this hormone alone may be enough to cause an erection, even in the absence of any physical stimulation.

As people assigned male at birth age, usually between ages 40 and 50, natural testosterone levels begin to fall. As this level decreases, episodes of NPT may decrease as well.

Brain relaxation

During your waking hours, your body releases hormones to suppress erections. When you’re asleep, your body releases less of those hormones. Combine this with other reasons, and you may experience an erection in your sleep, and NPT becomes more likely.

What’s clearer is what does not cause morning wood. For example, needing to urinate is not responsible for morning wood. Some people believe a morning erection keeps them from urinating during their sleep, but this is not true.

Morning wood is not always a sign of sexual stimulation. In many cases, NPT is not caused by dreams or thoughts of a sexual nature.

Who gets morning wood?

Some may experience NPT as young as infancy. NPT may also occur well into your 60s and 70s. It will become less frequent as age-related erectile dysfunction (ED) occurs.

You may experience an erection three to five times each night. Unrelated to what’s in your dreams, NPT can last longer than 30 minutes. Some people may experience an erection for as long as 2 hours during their sleep. Most erections will ease within a few minutes of waking up.

What does it mean if you stop getting morning wood?

Having an erect penis when you wake is an indicator of healthy blood and nerve supply to the penis. The presence of NPT also likely indicates that you’re physically capable of getting and maintaining an erection while awake.

If you stop experiencing NPT or notice that you’re not waking up with an erect penis anymore, this may be an early sign of an underlying medical problem.

Most likely, this is a sign of physical ED. You may have something happening within your body that’s preventing adequate blood or nerve supply for proper erectile function. You may be more likely to experience ED if you:

have overweight
have high blood pressure
have high cholesterol levels
have diabetes
have depression

People with certain disabilities may also be more likely to experience ED.

Medications may affect your ability to experience morning wood. Painkillers and some antidepressant medications may prevent NPT.

NPT may become less common as you get older, but if you’re young and are not experiencing a morning erection or if your erections suddenly stop, it may be time to contact a doctor.

When to contact a doctor or other healthcare professional

Morning wood is healthy, and it’s rarely a reason to contact your doctor. However, two situations may mean it’s time to make an appointment. These include:

You stop having morning wood

If you frequently experienced morning wood but now are not experiencing it at all or have fewer erections, you should talk with a doctor.

While it’s natural for episodes of NPT to occur less frequently with age, a sudden drop in frequency may be a sign of an underlying medical problem.

You begin experiencing painful erections

Most morning erections will subside within 30 minutes of waking up. If your erections last more than an hour after you wake up or if they become painful, you should make an appointment with a doctor.

It’s hard to declare “too much” and “too little” when it comes to NPT. Some people experience a morning erection every day. Some experience it less than once a week.

During your annual physical exam, talk with your doctor about how frequently you’re experiencing morning wood. If you’re not experiencing it enough, your doctor may be able to help diagnose the reason.

The bottom line

Morning wood is very common. It’s an indication of the typical blood and nerve supply to the penis. Some people experience morning wood several times per week. As you grow older, you may experience it less frequently.

If you stop experiencing NPT, this may be an early sign of an underlying medical problem. Pay attention to how often you experience morning wood. If it stops, speak with a doctor.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Calabrò RS, et al. (2016). Erectile dysfunction in individuals with neurologic disability: A hospital-based cross-sectional study.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27413582/
Feldman HA, et al. (2002). Age trends in the level of serum testosterone and other hormones in middle-aged men: Longitudinal results from the Massachusetts male aging study.https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/87/2/589/2846777?login=false
Schardein JN, et al. (2024). Nocturnal penile tumescence devices: past, present and future.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37950053/
Vreugdenhil S, et al. (2017). Sleep-related painful erections — a case series of 24 patients regarding diagnostics and treatment options.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5693397/
What is the nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT) test? (n.d.).https://www.issm.info/sexual-health-qa/what-is-the-nocturnal-penile-tumescence-npt-test/
Yafi FA, et al. (2016). Erectile dysfunction.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5027992/
Youn G. (2017). Why do healthy men experience morning erections?https://openpsychologyjournal.com/VOLUME/10/PAGE/49/FULLTEXT/

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Medically reviewed by Jillian Foglesong Stabile MD, FAAFP, DABOM — Written by Kimberly Holland — Updated on July 18, 2025

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What causes morning wood?

Physical stimulation

Hormone shifts

Brain relaxation

Who gets morning wood?

What does it mean if you stop getting morning wood?

When to contact a doctor or other healthcare professional

You stop having morning wood

You begin experiencing painful erections

The bottom line

How we reviewed this article:

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