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Nocturnal penile tumescence or slang Morning wood is an erection that occurs spontaneously in the absence of any specific sexual stimulation, particularly in adolescent males. All men who are physically able to achieve an erection do so during sleep, typically several times in a night. It typically happens during REM sleep and it is not uncommon for the erection to be present when he wakes up. This is utilized by sexual health practitioners to ascertain whether cases of erectile dysfunction are psychological or physiological in nature. Patients presenting with impotence are fitted with an elastic device worn around the penis which detects changes in girth and relays the information to a computer for later analysis. Men who obtain spontaneous erections in their sleep but not during waking hours are therefore considered to suffer from some form of psychosomatic condition, i.e. sexual anxiety disorder, which prevents them performing sexually.

• Andrology
• Penis