Of course, decreasing stress is a lot more difficult to accomplish than increasing blood flow by optimizing NO production (see Survival of the Firmest™ and supplements for erectile health), or improving the ability of your circulation to provide the needed blood flow for good erections. If stress is a particular factor in your life, you will have to work harder to optimize all other factors described on this web site and in our books. In spite of those efforts you may still have to solve the stress factor.

What can you do to decrease stress? We give some suggestions in our book, and Web MD has some information that may be helpful (www.webmd.com/content/article/57/66246.htm). Sometimes just taking on fewer tasks or modifying your work schedule may be all that you need to do. Many people find that exercise helps reduce stress, and you’ll also get the positive effect of conditioning your circulation to maximize blood flow for erectile function (see Exercise and EF).

Relaxation is a learned response. Doing yoga or meditation, for example, teaches you how to relax. Just taking four slow, deep breaths inhaling through your nose is a simple relaxation technique. Once you learn how to allow your body and nervous system to relax, that will be the same state of mind you need for allowing the penile arteries to dilate. An erection occurs when the body is relaxed and when you are optimally aroused, provided your circulation is conditioned to provide the increased blood flow (see exercise and EF),  and the ability of your penile blood vessels to produce and maintain NO is maximized (see Survival of the firmest™ and supplements for erectile health). An erection is not something you try to have- it’s something you allow yourself to have by relaxing. Trying to consciously flex the muscles in the penis will prevent blood flow from filling the penile vessels. Only when the penis is maximally engorged and hard, can flexing the muscles temporarily make it more rigid, because at that point the outflow of blood is already constricted (see how the penis works).

Performance anxiety can also be a source of stress that can constrict the blood supply to the penis. It is better not to try when you don’t feel like it, because failure will only make you more nervous the next time. Talk to your partner about this or have her read the section on this site for sexual partners (see for sexual partners).

Interestingly, one of the sources of antioxidants we recommend (green tea, or green tea extract), also contains an amino acid, L-theanine, that has been shown to have relaxing effects on the central nervous system, producing a pattern of brain waves similar to those seen during meditation. If stress is a factor for you, try drinking 2 or 3 cups per day of decaf green tea. It certainly does have a calming effect, and the antioxidants will help to keep NO from being broken down in your body. As an additional benefit, it may help to prevent prostate cancer (see other health benefits). Prostate cancer is very common in most countries, but the incidence is 18 times lower in China than in the U.S., and men in China who drink more green tea have less prostate cancer than those who drink less. This isn’t just a “two-fer”, this is a “three-fer”!