Perhaps it is difficult to even think of, but a lot of men suffer from erectile or sexual dysfunction. Since a lot of men would not admit the truth in such issues the real figure is higher than the official declared figure of 40%. The causes for this are varied, starting from mental factors like stress and depression to age-related falling testosterone levels. There are some lifestyle factors though which could be contributing to this also like smoking, drinking and popping some recreational pills.

Anything that causes a bottleneck to the blood flow to the penis region, can cause problems with erections. To get a rock hard erection, it is imperative that there is normal flow of blood to the penile area.

The practice of smoking has been known to cut down the number of erections severely when the man is asleep. This drop in nightly erections gives an important signal that there is an underlying problem and that enough blood is not flowing for normal erection to occur. Wanton smoking is the cause for this, so says the Lahey Hitchcock Medical Center, Burlington, Massachusetts. Moreover, it also showed that refraining form smoking for a short period like a day brought about a dramatic increase in spontaneous erections at night.

Teenagers who are heavy smokers are likely victims of poor quality semen. Moreover, the concentration of sperm is also affected negatively. This drastically reduces their chance of becoming a father as well as increases the chance of having offspring with genetic disorders due to faulty DNA imbibed from either parent.

Likewise it has also been seen that men who drink heavily suffer more from sexual problems than men who drink in moderation. This is because alcohol is a suppressant and it affects male libido negatively which makes it harder for you to achieve and maintain an erection.

As such a healthy lifestyle could be highly rewarding when it comes to your sexual life. For an energetic and problem-free sex life and good health, a healthy diet plan and regular physical exercise are compulsory. If you suffer from erectile dysfunction you could rely on herbal medications which contain herbal ingredients with aphrodisiac properties which pump in more blood to your penis.