Last updated on August 28, 2020
Question:
I’m 12 years old. Should I be worried if I do not have an erection every morning when I wake up? I used to get them but now they have stopped and I am worried that something is wrong. Also, I don’t get erections as hard as they used to be and they might not be lasting as long?
Answer:
The concern about not having erections is typically for older men and it is when a man doesn’t have an erection for months.
The most likely time to find yourself with an erection is when you first wake up in the morning, but it isn’t an absolute. Once you start having erections, you have them while you sleep during the dream stage of sleep, which typically happens 4 to 6 times each night. Commonly you go through a dream stage just before you wake up in the morning if you are waking up on your own. If you are being awaken by an alarm clock, you might not be in that stage when you get up. If you are having them at other times or notice them some mornings, then everything is still fine.
The strength of your erection depends on several factors. The primary one is how strongly your heart is beating. Another factor is how strongly you are sexually aroused. At your age, your body is still learning how to balance the chemicals and signals that cause erections. You will go through periods of overly strong erections and times when they are not nearly as strong. Having partial erections is very common.
The duration of an erection also varies greatly. Your body is not made to hold an erection for more than 30 minutes because the blood in your penis needs to get more oxygen from your lungs. But an erection can be as short as a few seconds or as long tens of minutes. A lot depends on how aroused you are and how long that arousal lasts.