Does Taking Viagra Make a Man More Virile?
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It might. A surprising new area of research is whether taking a small dose of Viagra every night works as a preventative to stave off impotence, just as people can take an aspirin a day to prevent heart attack.
Though you wouldn’t think you’d get much out of Viagra while you’re sleeping, it turns out that nighttime erections — most men get three or four every night — are crucial to maintaining potency. Because most men don’t have several erections during the day, the nocturnal erection, which allows blood and oxygen to flow to the genitals, is nature’s way of keeping the penis in working order. The theory is that anything that increases the intensity and duration of nighttime erections is good for long-term potency.
But don’t you need a sexual stimulus for Viagra to work? You do, and the likely trigger for nighttime erections, rapid-eye-movement sleep, is said to be the strongest sexual stimulus a man can experience. The brain shuts down all other activity to the penis and the level of adrenaline, which interferes with erections, plummets.
An Italian study of 44 men gave half the men 50 milligrams of Viagra before they went to sleep. The men averaged 39 years of age and didn’t have erectile dysfunction. Those who took Viagra had significantly longer and more rigid nighttime erections than the men taking a placebo.
Irwin Goldstein, a noted Boston urologist, says about 400 of his patients are using 25 mg of Viagra each night as a preventative measure. “Men say, ‘I’m potent. I don’t want to become impotent. Is there something I can do?’ ” says Dr. Goldstein. “It’s a very simple strategy for preserving sexual health.”
But while it makes sense in theory, whether nighttime Viagra use can prevent impotence is far from proven. Pfizer says it’s studying whether nighttime Viagra use can help improve sexual function in patients who have had prostate surgery but it won’t present the results until early next year.
Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that the best way to prevent impotence is to keep your veins from clogging up in the first place. Don’t smoke, eat healthy foods, lose weight and lower your cholesterol.