Can’t live without your precious cigarettes? Need one or several smoke breaks every hour? Is smoking a pack a day an everyday reality for you?
Well, your sexual health might be suffering. Why, you ask.
If you were to look at the research on smoking you would find that smoking and sexual dysfunction are connected. If you smoke, you are much more likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction than men who do not smoke. This might make you think, that cigarette smoke affecting cardiovascular health is understandable, but how does smoking cause sexual problems?
How does smoking affect your sexual health?
Well, smoking affects your overall health. The chemicals present in cigarettes affect your blood vessels, such as arteries and make it harder for your circulatory system to supply blood properly. When you are aroused, it is the flow of blood into your penis through your arteries, that gets you erect. Now, imagine if blood flow to the penis is impaired, what will happen? The answer is erectile dysfunction.
The side effects are not just limited to Erectile Dysfunction. Smoking may also have adverse effects on sperm health. You need to understand that even though erectile dysfunction is caused by several factors such as low testosterone, anxiety, depression and so on, smoking significantly increases your chances of experiencing this sexual dysfunction. This is especially true in the case of younger men. Erectile dysfunction affects not only your sexual health but also your relationships and self-esteem.
Bidding farewell to cigarettes for better sexual health
Now that you know smoking may lead to sexual problems such as ED, let’s see what you can do about it.
The first and most obvious thing is to quit smoking. This will not only improve your sexual health but boost your overall health as well. You can avoid several problems such as COPD, lower immunity and blood clots as well as minimize other health risks. How quickly your sexual health improves after you quit will depend on the severity of your ED issues. In addition to quitting tobacco, having an active lifestyle, eating healthy food and reduced consumption of alcohol will aid you in getting rid of ED while helping you get healthier.
Discussing issues like erectile dysfunction can be nerve-racking. That being said, the sooner you speak to your doctor about it and get help, the sooner you can be on your path to recovery. Discuss it with your partner as well. Telling him or her will help ease the self-esteem issues surrounding ED and may even help you overcome the strain this puts on your relationship. Studies show that having a support system in place can also make quitting cigarettes easier.
Now, you have another reason to quit your cigarettes: Better sexual health. Read more about natural treatments for Erectile Dysfunction in our blog.
