How to Get Hard: Effective Ways to Improve Erections

An erection happens when there is an increase in blood flow to your penis which causes it to become erect. Erections can occur through sexual stimulation or excitement but can also happen spontaneously. When you’re aroused, your brain sends messages to the penis through your nervous system. This tells the muscles in your ‘corpora cavernosa’ (the ‘spongy’ erectile tissues in your penis) to relax, allowing blood to flow into the penis.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) can happen when the blood flow to the penis is restricted. So, if you can’t get an erection, this could happen for a few reasons, for example you may:

• be stressed or experiencing performance anxiety
• have a health condition like diabetes or high blood pressure
• be on certain medications that can cause ED as a side effect, like an antidepressant, anti-anxiety drugs, or certain blood pressure medication
• have a hormone imbalance like low testosterone or a thyroid issue

Struggling to get an erection can also be caused by lifestyle factors. If you smoke, drink alcohol, or get poor sleep you may also have problems getting an erection.

If you are struggling to get or maintain an erection and want to know how to get hard, there are a few things you can do to help, including trying ED medications, and mental and stimulation techniques.

Medications to treat ED

Tablets

There are oral medications that can help with ED, such as:

• Viagra
• Spedra
• vardenafil
• sildenafil
• Viagra Connect
• tadalafil
• Cialis

ED tablets can help you to get erect by temporarily increasing the blood flow to the penis and all belong to a group of medications called PDE-5 inhibitors. ED medications take around 30 to 60 minutes to work on average, with the exception being Spedra, which can work in 15 to 30.

To take them, you should swallow the tablets whole with a drink of water around 1 hour before any sexual activity. ED medications will not work on their own and require sexual arousalexcitement. They should not be taken with grapefruit juice as it could affect the way the medication works.

The effects of ED medications typically last from 4 to 5 hours with the exception being tadalafil (also found under the brand name Cialis), which can last up to 36 hours and is commonly known as ‘the weekend pill’. If you take ED medication and experience a painful erection, especially if it lasts more than 4 hours, you should speak to a doctor or go to A&E straight away.

Cream

If you’re looking for how to get an instant erection, there’s also a cream available for ED called Vitaros cream, which works in 5 to 30 minutes. This is inserted directly into the head of your penis, so it can get to work in the correct area faster but is a topical treatment, rather than a tablet you swallow.

Psychological techniques to improve erections

ED can often be caused by stress or anxiety but there are a few things you can do to help lessen that. Psychological techniques you can try include:

• deep breathing and mindful meditation
• communicating with your partner and taking things slowly
• trying out fantasies like role play

If you think your ED symptoms are caused by anxiety, stress, or depression, it’s a good idea to speak to your GP about how to manage your mental health, especially if it’s affecting your everyday life. You can also speak to a therapist or sex therapist, or consider couples counselling.

Stimulation tips to get an erection

If you are finding it hard to get an erection, it can be helpful to try new stimulation approaches. This could include:

• foreplay
• setting the mood with candles or music and removing distractions
• practicing mindfulness techniques like focusing on your senses or trying mindful breathing

When looking at how to get an erection that lasts long enough for sex, it can often help to combine all the techniques listed here.

If you want to know how to get harder erections, you should focus on improving your:

• blood flow, by checking for underlying conditions, or using medications or a penis pump
• stamina, by making lifestyle choices
• libido, such as trying different stimulation approaches and reducing stress and anxiety

How to improve erection quality

There are many lifestyle changes you can make to help improve the quality of your erections, such as:

• exercising regularly, to help improve cardiovascular health and reduce stress
• managing your stress
• quitting smoking, as people who smoke are at a higher risk of ED
• eating a healthy diet to reduce inflammation and support overall health
• limiting alcohol as it can lower testosterone, reduce sexual sensitivity, and affect blood flow
• getting adequate sleep to help regulate hormones and maintain healthy blood flow through the body
• trying pelvic floor exercises to help increase blood flow and strengthen key muscles involved in erections

Underlying health conditions and ED

Research shows that 90% of people experiencing ED regularly have at least 1 underlying physical cause for their symptoms. If you experience regular difficulty with erections it may be linked to:

• high blood pressure or high cholesterol
• diabetes
• depression or anxiety
• hormonal imbalance

Managing any underlying conditions can help improve erection quality over time and it’s best to speak to a doctor if you think an underlying condition is causing your ED. You can better manage these conditions by also adopting healthier habits like eating a balanced diet, increasing exercise, and managing stress.

After ejaculation there is a time called the refractory period, during this time you will be unable to get another erection. This is a natural response that varies in length from person to person, and some may not experience it at all.

There are some things that you can do to reduce the refractory period, such as:

• maintaining a healthy weight
• doing pelvic floor exercises
• reducing stress and anxiety
• managing any underlying health conditions such as diabetes

Finding it difficult to keep an erection can happen sometimes, especially if you are stressed or if you have been drinking alcohol. In many cases, this may not be something to worry about. However it is important to know the signs that it may be the time to chat to a doctor about this.

We recommend speaking to your doctor if you:

• regularly experience difficulty getting or keeping an erection
• suspect there may be a medical condition involved, such as diabetes, low testosterone, or high blood pressure
• are worried or concerned
• experience other symptoms such as changes in sexual desire, fatigue, or mood changes

Your doctor will talk to you and take a medical history to find any underlying causes, which could be physical, psychological, or both. Some things your doctor may recommend to help you include:

• pelvic floor exercises
• speaking to a urologist
• medications like Viagra or Cialis
• therapies such as sex therapy or couples therapy
• lifestyle changes