Sleep Deprivation and Erectile Dysfunction (ED)

Sleep deprivation can be the primary cause of erectile dysfunction (ED). The good news, in this, is that by treating the sleep apnea, you'll actually treat the ED. 

A few nights of sleep deprivation is not likely to cause ED. It might slightly impact your libido, but sleep deprivation as a cause of ED is usually chronic (long term) sleep deprivation.

ED can be any or all of the following:

• Reduced sex drive (libido)
• Inability to get an erection
• Inability to perform (maintain an erection)

Chronic sleep deprivation is caused when you get less than 7-9 hours per day over a long period of time.

How Sleep Deprivation can Ruin Your Sex Life

Sleep is important for sex drive because a large percentage of your testosterone production occurs during sleep. Testosterone is a hormone that is essential for having a strong libido (sex drive). It is also important for maintaining an erection. When you produce less testosterone (as a man), you will likely experience both a reduced sexual desire and/or impaired sexual performance. Testosterone levels are highest in the morning and lowest point at the end of day. Sleep is like filling up your testosterone gas tank to be used throughout the day.

A good example of this is demonstrated in a recent study that examined erectile dysfunction and testosterone levels in 207 men with sleep apnea (a sleep disorder that causes moderate to severe sleep deprivation). These statistics are pretty clear:

• 61% of all men in the study with sleep apnea suffered from ED
• 72% of men with severe sleep apnea had ED
• Men with severe sleep apnea had significantly lower testosterone levels than men with mild sleep apne

There have been other studies that demonstrate directionally similar results, citing the ED sleep apnea link at 40%, 46%, 61% (referenced above), 64%, and 69%. Another study found that in 531 men, patients who slept 4 hours or less had half as much testosterone as patients who sleep 8+ hours.

Another Way Sleep Deprivation Can Ruin Your Sex Life

Testosterone isn't the only factor affecting sexual drive and performance. You should also consider the following, which are both important:

• Dopamine receptors
• Cortisol

Dopamine is a hormone that is necessary  for men to feel sexual desire. It also plays an important role in the process of getting an erection. Dopamine receptors are responsible for dopamine uptake. When you are sleep deprived, these receptors may not work optimally, which can further exacerbate problems with sexual desire or getting/maintaining an erection.

Cortisol is a stress hormone. When you are sleep deprived, your body may have higher levels of cortisol. In turn, this can influence your ability to manage stress level. Higher stress may impact sex drive and performance.

Taken together, along with testosterone, you should have a good idea the important role sleep plays in ensuring optimal sex function.

How to Restore Libido with Sleep

You can hedge your bet for getting better sleep by getting exercise, and cutting back on alcohol, screen time, and coffee

If you are sleep deprived, it means you have a sleep debt that you need to “pay back”. The word debt is misleading because your sleep debt doesn’t work like money – you can’t just pay your debt back in a lump sum. Here’s an example of how this DOESN’T work:

• You require 7 hours of sleep to get full rest
• Monday through Friday you get 6 hours of sleep per night, for an effective “debt” of 5 hours
• On Friday night and Saturday night, you sleep an extra few hours

Sleep studies show that getting one or two long nights of sleep does not remove the effects of sleep deprivation. You might feel good for the hours proceeding a long night of rest, but the effects of sleep deprivation will persist. In turn, this likely means that one or two long nights of sleep won't make your ED better.

The actual way you repay your sleep debt is by establishing a healthy pattern of sleep over time. In the same scenario above, what you would want to do to repay your sleep debt is:

• Get extra sleep on the weekend
• Get enough or a little bit of extra sleep every day the following week

Repaying sleep debt involves consistent, restful sleep until the effects of sleep deprivation are gone. If you are dealing with sleep deprivation and ED, repaying your sleep debt may solve your problem.

If you are struggling with ED and believe that sleep deprivation may the culprit, please reach out to us for more information about how you might begin your road to better sleep and a healthier sex life. Click the orange button below to take a free online sleep test and talk with one of our sleep health professionals