Describing Links Between Sexual Arrousal and REM Sleep

Sleep is a very complex process, and the growing study of it through psychology is becoming extremely popular, as well as personally interesting to me. Sleeping is something we all do, so the research being done in this field is going to benefit us all. I think most of the information we're finding every day in all of the fields of psychology is extremely fascinating, and dream interpretation / states of consciousness especially.

One thing about sleep that many have probably questioned at some point in their lives is the fact that we all become sexually aroused at some point while we're sleeping. Many males wake up with an erection, usually referred to as "morning wood". Women also very often wake up lubricated or with clitoral engorgement.

Is there a link between the dreams we have and our sexual arousal while we're sleeping? Actually, no! Just because you woke up with an erection does not mean you were having some perverted dream or that you had a dream that would otherwise sexually satisfy you. The dream probably isn't even what's affecting your sexual arousal at all, it's much more complex than just that.

With the help of many psychologists, this specific subject has been carefully studied and observed. Of course, it's much easier to perform this study on men, since it is much easier to measure the level of arousal of a man in comparison to a woman, and different sexual patterns between the two.

The truth of the matter is, people become very aroused while during REM sleep. REM sleep, otherwise known as rapid eye movement sleep, is the stage of sleep that gives us the most energy, it's very restorative. Not only does it have that unique characteristic, but there are a few other very important key concepts about REM sleep. REM sleep is also known as paradoxical sleep, for the fact that our whole body is paralyzed during this stage of sleep. This also proves that acting out dreams is not something we do in sleep walking, since our body is paralyzed when we're actually dreaming.

The mere statistics of arousal during REM sleep are astonishing. REM periods often only last about 20 minutes, and our sexual arousal long outlasts these; men typically have erections for about 30-45 minutes per occasion while sleeping. These start at the beginning of REM typically, and outlast it into the next sleep cycle.

According to these statistics, men are erect for more than half the night! A typical 25 year old man has an erection for nearly half of his night's sleep. A 65 year old man has an erection for about a quarter of his night's sleep, on average. Doesn't that disprove the entire theory on erectile dysfunction? True. Researchers are already working on this, and it's suggested that ED is not caused by a problem between your legs, more so that there's a problem with the mental link between mind and body.

If states of consciousness is something you're interested in, you can learn a lot by checking out the psychology page on sparknotes.com, or take an intro to psych course in college or high school!