How Do You Know That You Have a Spontaneous Erection At Night?

Professor Bin Bin, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine

2013-11-12

Translated by Wira Yudha on 2018-08-05

Self-testing method of night-time penile erection

Nocturnal Penile Tumescence (NPT) is a natural manifestation of penile erectile function. NPT is a physiological phenomenon in which multiple spontaneous erections can occur in infants and adults during sleep. This is an objective manifestation of subconscious penile activity. Therefore, monitoring of penile erection during sleep can rule out interference of psychological factors. This could serve as an important means to identify psychological and physical impotence. NPT monitoring has a variety of methods, such as laboratory computer monitoring, stamp testing, fractured erection strength measuring tape, erectile hardness computer tester, etc. Out of that many methods stamp test is the easiest way to do it yourself.

     In the absence of computer monitoring conditions, stamp test method can be used to observe night erection ability of the penis. During night time erection, penis become inflated alone is not sufficient to tear the holes by the side of stamp, only when penis reaches a certain hardness then it can make the stamp hole crack. In the event stamp failed to tear after falling asleep at night, it suggested that there is physical impotence. The success of this test had its own negative side. Tearing of stamp proved that erection does exist, but it is hard to tell if hardness of night time erection meets the minimum standard of sexual intercourse and it is also difficult to observe duration of each night time erection. Stamp test and NPT control found that 20 out of 25 impotence patients had tears in the stamp perforation, but only 4 out of 20 cases showed normal erection during NPT. Other 10 patients in the same NPT test only reached less than 50% of the standard for hard erection. Therefore, using stamp test to monitor penile erection function is not a reliable method and it is rarely used at present. However, in the absence of other testing methods, it is still a simple, convenient and inexpensive test method. Patients can do it themselves by preparing a series of unperforated stamps and enclosing those stamps to penis from the top all the way to the root when penis is flaccid before going to bed. It is advisable to wrap it tightly around the penis. If those stamps are broken when patients woke up the next day, it indicates that penis had an erection during sleep. If the stamps’ perforation remain intact, but were detached from the interface, then must be retested. In order to improve test’s accuracy, patients should not drink alcohol or engage in sexual activity that night. It is best to take measurements from several continuous nights to comprehensively determine test results.