How to measure the length? Is the circumference relevant? The reason for nocturnal erections? Fellow men – if you thought you are well familiarized with your member, its time to check out the facts, debunk some myths and learn a few interesting things about your penis!
1. The Myth – the Longer and Wider the Penis, the Better a Man Can Pleasure a Woman
But in reality? – wrong. Perhaps some women get aroused by the looks of a big phallus. However, the length and circumference of a penis are not at all relevant to the ability to pleasure a female partner. Firstly, when comparing two penises in the flaccid state there may be considerable differences between them. However, when penises are erect their average length amounts to 12-14 cm, and what’s more, a man with a big flaccid penis does not necessarily has a big erect penis. Moreover, research actually shows that smaller flaccid penises can grow by 86%. Bigger flaccid penises, on the other hand, can only grow by 47%. So in fact, a penis is considered relatively small, only if it measures less than 7.6 cm when erect.
And what about the circumference? It’s usually 2 cm less than the length. However, since the vagina is elastic it can accommodate a penis of any size. Moreover, only the inferior third of the vagina receives somatic innervation, which consequently makes a long penis completely redundant. And while we’re on this subject, it’s noteworthy that 80% of women don’t orgasm from penetrative sex but rather need direct clitoral stimulation. So the bottom line is: we can relax. The real differences in sizes are only in the flaccid state, while the length and circumference don’t really affect a woman’s pleasure.
2. The Myth – You Need an Erection to Orgasm
But in reality? Wrong. Men who can’t get an erection can still get an orgasm
3. The Myth – the Penis is a “Love Muscle” in the Body
But in reality? Nope. The penis isn’t actually a muscle. It’s mostly made of spongy tissue which fills with blood when a man gets an erection.
4. The Myth – the Penis Has No Bone Thus It isn’t Breakable
But in reality? Wrong. It’s true there is no bone in that boner, but rather, two cylinders, with sponge-like tissue, which fill with blood to create a rigid erection. However, there are situations where penile fracture can occur, such as during sex, if the erect penis accidentally thrust against the pelvic bones during penetration. Even intense masturbation can cause a fracture, as well as forceful penetrative sex against the tightly contracted vaginal muscles, or otherwise due to a blunt force trauma caused by accident or assault. These are rare situations which occur in one out of 175,000 cases, and they require emergency treatment. The signs of a broken penis are: an audible popping or snapping sound, severe pain and swelling, dark bruising (first red then blue and black) or a bleeding. Lack of treatment might result in a permanent curvature or chronic fracture or even erectile dysfunction. According to the UK’s National Health Service, one-third of penile fracture cases occurs where the partner is on top.
5. The Myth – a Proper Erection is a Straight one
In reality? Not true. During erection, the penis can point to the right, left, downwards or straight forward – there’s no right or wrong. The differences in erections’ angles are many. But what would require medical investigation? If the bending causes some sort of pain during erection. Additionally, there is a medical condition called Peyronie’s disease, which results from fibrous scar tissue that develops on the penis. It manifests in curved, painful erections, and requires treatment.
6. The Myth – Night Time Erections Are Related to Erotic Dreams
In reality – not necessarily. Healthy men have 3-5 nocturnal erections every night, each lasting 25-35 minutes, and the last in this series is the famous “morning wood”. According to research, nocturnal penile erections occur during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep (the phase during which we dream). It is not entirely clear why men have them, but it’s not necessarily related to erotic dreams. It could be that nocturnal erections contribute to penile health, as regular increased oxygenated blood in the penis, may be beneficial for the health of the organ. But even if the reason behind nocturnal erections is yet unclear, doctors are in agreement that as long as you have them, it’s an indication that everything works well “down there”. Consequently, if a man has difficulty achieving an erection when awake, but becomes erect when he sleeps, it’s an indication that there is a psychological issue, rather than a physical one. On the other hand, if he doesn’t have nocturnal erections, the issue may be physical.
7. The Myth – the Penis Size Correlates with the Foot Size
In reality? Despite it being a common belief – it’s erroneous. Even researchers from University College London, who measured the penises of 104 men in different ages, including teenagers and pensioners, found that the average length was 13 cm and the average shoe size was 43. And of course – no correlation was found between the shoe size and the penises’ length.
8. The myth – Spontaneous Erections Begin at Infancy
In reality – wrong. Spontaneous erections can happen as of the fetal stage in uterus, and they can be seen clearly in an ultrasound scan
9. The Myth – Erectile Dysfunction is Solely Related to a Man’s Sexual Health
In reality – not true. Sometimes Erectile dysfunction is a sign of a bigger, more complex health problem. Nowadays, it is known that erectile dysfunction can be caused by heart disease, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, high cholesterol, and more. Furthermore, sometime it can be an early sign of heart disease, even before other clinical signs manifest.
10. A Penis Length Remains the Same Forever
In reality? Not exactly, as it seems that in certain circumstances, the penis may grow slightly beyond a certain size. According to one research, men who became aroused through oral sex had on average a larger penis size than those who attained erections through fantasizing. However, on the other hand, the penis can get shorter by 1 or 2 centimeters whenever there exists a continuous problem attaining an erection. This is because the penis gradually loses its elasticity absent regular erections. In addition, the penis can get shorter with age, and there may be a two cm difference in size, throughout the ages 30 to 60. And if that isn’t enough, the testicles too start to shrink in size from the age of 40 and onwards.
11. The Myth – Prolonged Erection is Every Man’s Dream
In reality? Think again! Due to lack of proper blood drainage from the penis, a prolonged erection can be very painful and not pleasurable at all. It is a dangerous situation, as a process of necrosis is likely to begin after approximately 6 hours. Therefore, it’s essential to get medical care urgently.
12. The Myth – There is Only One Type of Erection
In reality – not true.
Generally, men experience three types of erections: reflexogenic erection, which is the result of direct stimulation of the penis, psychogenic erection, which is the result of visual stimulation (including sexual fantasies) and a sub-conscious erection, which occurs during the dreaming phase while being asleep. Apart from the reflexogenic erection, the other erections can occur at any time without any physical touch, even unexpectantly. But the fourth type of erection and the most surprising one, happens moments after death, and is also known as the “angel lust” or the “terminal erection”. Most commonly, it happens after death by hanging (the assumption is that it’s due to pressure on the cerebellum), but it has also been reported following death by head injury, damage to major blood vessels or poisoning.
13. The (female) Myth – Men Control Their Ejaculation
In reality – not exactly. Most men have very little control over the exact moment of ejaculation, mainly because the ejaculation mechanism does not involve the brain. This does not mean the brain is entirely left out, as we all know how a certain thought, which comes from the mind, can easily uphold matters and delay ejaculation. However, generally, the neural signal for ejaculation comes from a neural region in the spinal cord, that coordinates and regulates the relevant sexual functions.
And on a final note, should you wish to take this subject a step further, here’s one utterly astonishing and amusing fact: the famous Guolizhuang restaurant in Beijing, China, serves exclusively painstakingly decorated gourmet dishes made of penises and testicles. Yes. Yes. It’s up to you – only for the fearless 😊
The Company hereby clarifies that the information contained on the website is for informational purposes only, and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical and healthcare advice, and does not constitute medical advice or opinion. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any medical condition or question you may have regarding a medical condition.
