Will NoFap Cure Erectile Dysfunction? (Here’s Your Answer)
Will NoFap Cure My Erectile Dysfunction?
If you found this post you are probably struggling with achieving or maintaining an erection. Or at the very least, you would probably like to be able to have a bit harder and more reliable erections.
Well, fear not because on this page you will find helpful tips on how to get your beloved ‘manhood' back.
Tips that are NoFap related as well as other, helpful, erection boosting tips.
But first, lets answer your question; will NoFap cure erectile dysfunction?
Answer: NoFap can only cure erectile dysfunction (ED) if your ED is caused by over-masturbation to porn. So,if your ED is porn induced, then not only will NoFap help, but it's actually the only real cure for your ED. On the other hand, if your ED is caused by some other issues e.g. organic, hormonal or other, then no amount of NoFap will be able to fix that and for you medical help is needed.
Asking my subscribers if NoFap has helped their erections…
I did a poll on my YouTube channel, asking my subscribers if they have experienced harder and better erections by doing NoFap…
…here's how they responded…
Do you find that NoFap has made your erections harder in general?
Out of more than 1600 voters, these are the results
- Yes, definitely: 63%
- No, I notice no difference: 9%
- I'm not sure, I keep relapsing too often 18%
- I haven't been relapsing that much, but I'm still not sure 9%
Now, here it's very important to point out that most of the subscribers of my YouTube channel, are guys who have been using quite a lot of porn and ahve expressed a desire to quit (naturally since about 60% of my videos are about how to unhook from a problematic porn use) and thus, many of them have porn induced ED.
If this same poll had been asked in a group of older men, say 50+, that don't have any problems with porn, the outcome would probably look very different. So, do take that into account.
How to tell if my ED is caused by porn?
Once we learn that frequent masturbation to today's super stimulating adult sites can cause problems with our libido and erections, then the next obvious questions becomes…
- How do I know if my ED is caused by porn?
- Maybe I'm just nervous, performance anxiety can cause ED, right?
- Maybe I have some hormonal issues or maybe something else is wrong with me?
Indeed all of those are a possibility, and the best way to start is to make an appointment to see a good doctor, to see if you can rule out any potential health issues.
Once that is done, and if no health issues could be found, it's starting to look like you are you're down to two options…
- Your ED is porn induced
- You have performance anxiety
Te help you pinpoint the problem even further, I have created a video where I give you some tips on how to figure out if your ED is caused by porn, anxiety or something else.
It's basically a porn induced ED test.
Watch this video and take a the porn induced ED test now…
I hope you watched it until the very end as it's important to get all the pieces of information in order for you to draw a conclusion.
Remember, NoFap will cure your erectile dysfunction just as long as it was porn that caused it.
But, what exactly does NoFap mean?
- Is it just giving up masturbation?
- Or just giving up porn?
- Or a combination?
- Or giving up ejaculation altogether?
- What about sex?
Well, let's take a closer look at it…
Ok, so my ED is probably caused by porn – what now?
What exactly does ‘NoFap' mean and how do I do it to fix my ED?
Ok, so let's say the video you watched made you suspect that your ED is indeed caused by fapping to porn.
What's your next step?
Well, in that case you need to do a proper, so called, PMO reboot. PMO is simply an acronym for porn – masturbation – orgasm.
This is what most guys who use the term “NoFap” mean. I.e. to do a proper PMO reboot.
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How to do a proper PMO reboot (NoFap)
Doing a PMO reboot is pretty straight forward.
A PMO reboot consists of two stages…
- Unhooking from porn…
- Rewiring your sexual responses away from pixels on a screen, back to real life people…
Unhooking from porn means exactly what it sounds like. You have to stop using porn so that the desensitized reward system in your brain can heal and regain sensitivity to dopamine (more on this further down).
Rewiring your sexual responses simply means spending time around real life women (or men if you play on the other team) instead of pixels on a screen, so that the sexual circuits in your brain learns that it is to real life, flesh and blood, people you're supposed to respond.
Do I have to quit porn forever?
Most guys who have developed porn induced ED choose to stay away from porn, even after they fully rebooted, simply because many of them had a full blown porn addiction. And going back to moderation can be a very tricky thing for a former addit….
…No matter if it's alcohol, cocaine, gambling or porn, it's a slippery slope.
Most who try introducing moderate use, after they've unhooked, will find that they quickly start escalating again and before they know it, they once again found themselves being back in the grips of the addiction.
However, I would be lying if I told you that no one has ever done it. Because there are indeed guys who managed to go back to watching porn in moderation after they fixed their ED, but you should know that they are definitely in the minority. I would estimate that at least 95% of guys who try to do so, will end up getting ED again….
…naturally, it's your choice, but please keep that in mind.
Can I masturbate without porn during my PMO reboot?
Some guys will recover just fine while engaging in porn-free masturbation during their pmo reboot. Others find that they can't even get an erection hard enough to masturbate with, without using porn.
If you belong to the latter, then definitely leave it alone, as your brain is really trying to tell you something there, i.e.
…I need a break from it…please, give me a break!
PLEASE NOTE: Most guys have found that they are able to recover their erectile health much faster if they also, temporarily, reduce or give up ejaculation in the beginning of their reboot. So, if you belong to the group of guys who have a partner, or who can do porn-free masturbation with a somewhat decent erection, you still might want to give it a rest for some time.
How long to reduce or avoid ejaculations for fastest ED recovery?
Remember now, it is giving up porn that is the key thing here. That is ultimately what's going to lead to your ED recovery, but again, giving yourself a complete rest from ejaculations has been shown to speed up said recovery.
I would recommend…
- 30-60 days without ejaculations if you have mild ED
- 60-90 days if you have moderate ED
- 90-180 days if you have severe ED (here you perhaps have sluggish erections even with porn)
These are just rough recommendations and not something set in stone. So don't freak out if try to keep it, but happen to have an orgasm here and there. And once more I want to remind you that staying away from porn completely is they number one thing that you should be doing.
So don't worry so much if you happen to “bust a few nuts” here and there during your reboot. But do make sure to NOT let yourself watch porn here and there, as that will definitely slow down your reboot significantly and may even prevent you from making any progress at all.
Older men tend to recover faster than younger men…
Also, if you started fapping to internet porn very late in your life (like after the age of 22) then you will most likely need less time to recover and you can probably also get away with more ejaculations during your reboot.
If you started fapping to porn at a very young age, then you will most likely have a longer recovery road, and thus also would do better with stricter rules in terms of how much to ejaculate during your reboot.
How can older men recover quicker?
Well, think about it.
It is in the early stages of development that our brain is the most plastic and adaptable. Right then it is literally a ‘learning machine'.
By fapping to porn several times a week you are literally training yourself for ‘the wrong sport', so to speak. Teaching the young brain that it is there, on the screen that the real libido is supposed to be used.
On the other hand, if you're a bit older, and perhaps have some real life sexual experience before you start engaging in internet porn, then it will be easier for the brain to rewire back to real life people during your reboot period, since its sexual circuitry has already been firing and humming while being sexually active in the real world.
What about kissing, cuddling and orgasm-free sex during the reboot?
Kissing and cuddling during your reboot is fine. In fact, it that will actually help the rewiring and you can start doing this from the very first day of your reboot if you like.
Remember, part of the pmo reboot is to ‘reprogram' your sexual responses so that you can be more turned on by real life people than by pixels on a screen.
What about sex?…
When it comes to sex, you can also start doing that right from the very start of your reboot, however, here I usually recommend this…
- If you can achieve an erection hard enough for penetration without using hand stimulation, having sex during your reboot is probably beneficial and might potnetially speed up your recovery.
- If it takes a lot of effort to achieve an erection and you need to use your hand just to get it hard enough, then you'd be better of giving it a rest (wait a couple of weeks or so, and try again).
- If you manage to achieve some form of erection sufficient for sex, be gentle and go slow, so that you can stay away from ejaculation (remember, most guys recover faster if they stay away from ejaculations for a couple of months in the beginning of their reboot).
How long will it take for NoFap to cure my erectile dysfunction?
The next natural question guys want to know, once they learn that fapping to porn has caused them ED is, how long does it take for NoFap to cure my ED?
How long will rebooting take?
Well, the short answer is; it's different for everyone.
Even though that answer is true, I know most readers will not be happy with it. So I have tried my best to calculate an average from what I have seen after having been involved in the porn addiction community for about 10 years now.
In general, the earlier you started fapping to high speed internet porn, the longer it will take for you to regain your erectile health.
This mean that, even though it's impossible to know for sure, in order to give you at least a somewhat accurate answer, we have to divide the guys into different categories…
…look for your category below and find your answer there.
(Remember, ‘PIED' stands for, porn induced erectile dysfunction…)
Please note: As you probably understand, there are many factors involved in how long it takes for guys to recovery, and even though the above answers are calculated from an average, each individual is unique and has a unique brain, making it impossible to know the exact length of YOUR recovery. This is why you need to take the categories with a grain of salt.
Can you speed up a PMO reboot?
So, now you're probably wondering if there's something else you can do, besides rebooting to help regain your erectile health faster. I.e.is there a way to speed up a PMO reboot?
The answer is, yes, probably.
Just as there are things you need to avoid, in order to not slow it down.
So, let's take a look at what these things are…
Physical exercise…
There are convincing studies out there, showing that physical exercise can help speed up brain recovery after an addiction. And you need to remember that PIED is not caused by poor blood flow or some other issues ‘down there', but they are actually caused by real addiction related brain changes.
Porn induced ED is in my opinion mainly caused by a combination of sexual conditioning and a desensitized reward system.
Desensitization is one f the four major brain changes, that happens in any addiction, and physical exercise has shown to be able to help reverse it by up-regulate dopamine D2 receptors in the reward circuitry. This will undoubtedly help speed up the recovery process.
If you're interested in learning more about desensitization and the rest of the brain changes, then take a look at the article, What happens in your brain when you watch too much porn?
How much will it help?
There's no way of knowing exactly how much exercise will help speed up recovery brain recovery, but I would guess it makes a big difference.
One study made on meth addicts found that those who did a combination of strength training and cardiovascular training saw a significant up-regulation of their dopamine receptors after 8 weeks of staying away from the drug. This was compared to a control group who were equally addicted and just stayed away from their drug, without doing any physical exercise. The non exercise group saw very little up-regulation during those 8 weeks.
Now, keep in mind that we are talking about porn induced ED here, and not a meth addiction. But I wanted to tell you about that study, just to drive home the point that physical exercise does indeed seem to speed things up.
And hey, if meth addicts can recover their brain function, then obviously porn addicts can do so too (especially considering the fact that porn raises your dopamine by about 200% compared to meth, that ramps it up to about 1200%).
What kind of exercise is best…
The short answer is, the kind that that you will actually stick to. I.e. it probably doesn't matter that much, just as long as you get your heart pumping and your blood flowing.
There are some research pointing towards high intensity interval training being the most effective form, but you can't keep doing that every single day without risking injuries and over-training, so I recommend you approach it by taking a ‘long term view' on the matter.
Why not do some slow cardio most days of the week and then go harder a 1-3 times a week?
How much…
I personally do 25-40 minutes of cardio on most days and then I lift weight with a pretty high intensity 2-3 times a week.
Now, here I need to point out that I keep the intensity level pretty mild when doing my cardio session, as “zone 2 cardio*” is something you can do on a daily basis without running into risk of injuries and over-training. Zone 2 cardio means a heart rate around 117-135 bpm, depending on how old you are…
…indeed, I have found that going harder than this with the cardio, (since I do it daily) will only result in driving my HRV and nervous system into a state of over training.
*Some measurement devices, or internet sites, call this zone 1. Keep in mind that we live in an age where units and data have different names depending on where you check them. But a heart rate between 117-135 beat per minutes is a good range.
Intermittent fasting…
Intermittent fasting has also been shown to help up-regulate dopamine receptors and thus help fine-tune the reward system.
There are no studies (that I'm aware of) looking at what the optimal length of fasting would be, in terms of receptor up-regulation, but I'm personally doing a 16 / 8 regimen pretty often. I.e. I have a fasting window of 16 hours, followed by an eating window of 8 hours – within a 24 hour time span.
Now, do I think that the 16 / 8 regimen is the most effective form form of fasting for up-regulation of the D2 receptors?
Answer: no I do not.
However, the 16 / 8 is easy to do, and just like with the physical exercise, we always do best if we find something that we can keep hammering on long term, instead of going hard for a while and then just end up giving up, because we burn ourselves out.
That said, I have done quite many 48 hours and 72 hour fasts as well. And I can honestly tell you that I've had some amazing results with the 48h fasts.
I remember one particular fast, where after the fast was over, I experienced how music suddenly sounded way better. This could very well be an indicator of dopamine receptor up-regulation, and that I was more sensitive to doapmine (which is what we want) since music raises dopamine a bit.
However, if you're not used to doing intermittent fasting, you need to be a bit careful with those longer fasts.
It would be wise to talk to your doctor first, before you embark on one of those loger ones, especially if you have any health conditions. And also, it's always good to build up it, instead of going hard from the very first time. This is true with pretty much anything in life. Not just fasting.
Cold showers…
Cold showers are another tool that could potentially speed up your reboot.
Cold water immersion has been shown to both increase dopamine itself while also up-regulating those small dopamine D2 receptors in the brain.
However, if you never tried taking a cold shower, there's something you need to know before you start…
…they are painful!
I personally take them most days of the week and I have worked my way up to being able to do 2-3 minutes. But since I live far up North, in Finland, where the coldest setting is barely above freezing, I too had to build up to it. The first couple of times I tried it, I could only go for about 10-15 seconds or so.
There is probably also a point of diminishing returns and I don't think it's necessary to start going longer than 2-3 minutes. More is not always better.
Things to avoid – that might slow down your recovery…
Let's take a look at a few things that might slow down your recovery as well, so you know what to limit, or stay away from…
Some of the most common things holding guys back are…
- Too much alcohol
- Excessive social media use
- Other drugs
- Playing too much video games
- Too much junk food
- Internet addiction
- A sedentary lifestyle
The reson why these may hold you back is because they all keep hammering on the brains reward system. In other words, too much of these ‘over stimulates' dopamine, to the point of down-regulating the receptors. And, as you learned by now, that is the exact opposite of what we want when trying to heal.
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Now, keep in mind that the dose determines the ‘poison' here, and that most guys will recover just fine even if using from time to time, perhaps even if using quite a lot…but…
…if you for example get drunk every single weekend while doing endless social media browsing (for hours on end) every single day, and on top of that you eat a lot of junk food, it will definitely hold you back… and could, in worst case scenario, prevent recovery altogether.
For more info on this, take a look at the articles…
Now don't develop a dopamine phobia either. Keep in mind that we need dopamine, heck even drinking a glass of water or going for a run raises dopamine a bit. It are those instant gratification things, that you over-consume, that can be problematic. E.g, porn, junk food, alcohol, video games etc.
Other helpful things for your erections…
Let's take a look at some other things that might be helpful for ramping up your libido and erection responses.
Taking dance classes…
Yup, you hear me right.
Now some of you are probably wondering; how on earth could dance classes help?
Well, it's quite simple really. Remember that a PMO reboot consists of two parts…
- Unhooking from porn
- Rewiring your sexual responses back to real life people (instead of pixels on a scree)
Dance classes, or just dancing in general, is an amazing way to help the rewiring part!
You see, it's not just sex alone that can rewire the brain. Touching, being close, smelling and just interacting with the opposite sex will also help. And dance classes are particularly good for this, as all your senses are involved while you're being physically close.
On top of that, when you get back home, your brain has new memories and imprints to start processing, helping to speed up the process. All the touching, moving, talking and the smells you experiences during the day will start playing a part in waking up your libido.
I experienced it myself…
I'm not just throwing stuff out there. I actually took dance classes myself during my own reboot, back when I was unhooking from porn myself a few years ago. And I really felt that they significantly helped guide my libido in the right direction again. And thousends of other men have noticed the same.
Obviously, there are a lot of things, besides dancing that you can do as well to help you rewire. Just be creative and figure out a way to be close, interact and spend a lot of time with real life women…in a noon creepy way, of course…
…but I don't have to tell you that, right? 🙂
Try anyone of these 2 supplements…
During my own reboot I tried pretty much every libido and erection supplement I could get my hands on. Heck, I even tried prescription Viagra, as I talk about in the article Does viagra help with PIED?
Most of the supplements I tried were completely worthless. However, I actually found two that significantly helped my erections. In fact, they even worked better than prescription Viagra.
If you want to take a deeper dive into that world, you can read more about them here…
Both of those worked surprisingly well for me, even though I was pretty desensitized back when I was rebooting. And if I use one of those today, now when I'm fully healed, oh man…then we're talking diamond cutters…just like back when I was 16 🙂
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Does NoFap Cure Erectile Dysfunction
Final Words
So to sum everything up, NoFap can cure ED if you have porn induced ED (PIED). If you, on the other hand, have an organic, hormonal or any other severe health problems, it will not fix that.
To find out if your ED is caused by porn, perform the PIED test I show in the video at the top of this page.
I hope you found the article helpful.
Thanks for rearing,
-Scandinavian Bob-