Erectile dysfunction (ED) can be triggered by a mélange of different physical and psychological factors such as underlying health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease; relationship or emotional problems; some medications like blood pressure drugs and antidepressants; and smoking, drugs, and alcohol abuse. Medical treatment for ED normally involve taking medication or undergoing surgical procedures, but there is also a variety of non-invasive, lifestyle changes that ease ED. In fact, a study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine in 2014 by Australian researchers, found that some men can reverse ED through lifestyle changes. The study also revealed that, even if medication is needed to treat erectile dysfunction, the treatment regimen is likely to be more effective if the man adopts the following lifestyle changes.

Eat right
The food that you eat has a direct impact on erectile dysfunction since any diet that is bad for your heart is also bad news for your ability to have erections. Research has shown that eating patterns that can lead to heart attacks due to restricted blood flow in the coronary arteries, can also interfere with blood flow to and within a man’s penis. Bear in mind that proper blood flow is required for your penis to become erect.  Diets that include plenty of whole grains, fiber, fresh fruits, vegetables and heart-healthy fats like fish, and that limit processed grains and red meat, decrease the risk for erectile dysfunction. In particular, adherence to the Mediterranean diet has been associated with a lower prevalence of ED in men. Eating a healthy diet also helps to reduce the risk for vascular disease, high cholesterol, obesity, and diabetes, all of which are major contributing factors to ED.

Limit your alcohol intake
Some men with ED find having a drink helpful as it enables them to relax.  However, heavy drinking only makes things worse. This is because, a man’s central nervous system is responsible for stimulating the release of nitric oxide, which is an essential chemical for eliciting and maintaining an erection. Drinking large amounts of alcohol dulls the central nervous system, causing it to function inefficiently. Lack of enough nitric oxide in your body translates to erectile dysfunction. Additionally, heavy alcohol consumption over a prolonged period of time can damage the liver, resulting in an increase in levels of estrogen in men. Therefore, for good health (in general) and better sex, limit yourself to only two or fewer drinks in a day. The key is to drink in moderation.

Monitor your medications
ED can occur as a side effect of medications being taken for other health conditions. Common culprits include antidepressants, antihistamines, high blood pressure drugs, beta-blockers, cholesterol meds, heart medications, some diuretics, anti-psychotic drugs, chemotherapy, and hormone drugs among others. If you suspect that your medication could be the cause of your erectile dysfunction, you should consult with your doctor, but do not cease using the drug on your own. There are medications that should only be tapered off under a physician’s supervision.

Stay sexually active:
According to a study carried out by European scientists, being sexually active may also help to prevent erectile dysfunction. The study, which was published in The American Journal of Medicine in 2008, suggests that men in their 50s, 60s, and 70s may be able to reduce their risk of ED by having sex at least once per week. However, many urologists still have reservations about these results.  Some experts argue that having regular sexual intercourse appears to protect the blood vessels and nerve fibers that are responsible for erectile function and seems to prevent the scarring of the chambers inside your penis, which are filled with blood to elicit an erection. However, others point out that while infrequent sex is evidently associated with erectile dysfunction, it’s still not clear that it can lead to ED; and hence it’s too early to conclude that frequent sexual activity can help men to protect themselves from this condition.  All in all, considering the numerous benefits of sexual activity, coupled with the possibility that the study could be right about regular sexual intercourse helping to prevent ED, you certainly have every reason to remain sexually active.

Beware of prolonged bicycling
While cycling helps you to burns calories, strengthen your leg muscles, and improve your cardiovascular fitness, prolonged cycling is another risk factor for ED.  When you spend a long period of time bike riding, the bicycle seat puts pressure on your perineum; that area of the body that runs between the anus and genitals. The perineum is filled with nerves and arteries that supply sensation as well as oxygen-rich blood to your penis. Putting too much pressure on this region can harm these crucial nerves and arteries by compressing them. This can lead to loss of sensation or penile numbness, reduced blood flow to the penis, and eventually, temporary or prolonged erectile dysfunction.

However, this does not mean that you have to give up biking in order to preserve your sexual function. There are several simple precautions or modifications that you can apply to help you prevent cycling-related erectile problems, such as:

• Getting a wide bicycle seat, with plenty of padding to absorb the impact of the ride. Gel-filled and shock-absorbing seats are good options. Do not use narrow seats as these exert most pressure on your perineum.
• Wearing padded biking shorts, to get an extra layer protection.
• Raising the handlebars: This will enable you to sit more upright, shifting the pressure away from your perineum to the buttocks instead.
• Cutting back on your training intensity so that you’re only cycling for a few hours at a time.
• Taking regular breaks during long bike rides: You can walk around or even stand on the bike’s pedals periodically.
• Avoiding tilting your seat upwards, as this position will only increase pressure on your perineum.
• Lowering the handlebars and leaning forward to lift your backside off the bicycle seat so as to relieve pressure from the perineum.
• Mixing up your workout routine: Make cycling part of a well-balanced fitness program. Rather than biking exclusively, you can also switch between walking, swimming, jogging, and other forms of exercise.
• Positioning the seat so that it only applies minimal pressure on your perineum.
• Switching to a recumbent bike.

Most importantly, be on the lookout for early warning symptoms. If you experience any pain, tingling or numbness in the area between your anus and penis, this is your cue to stop riding for a while.

Reduce Stress
When we feel threatened, our bodies are hardwired to feel stress and respond to it. This keeps us alert and always ready to avoid danger. However, with the ever-increasing demands of life, our stress ‘alarm systems’ rarely shut off, and it is really hard to change or steer clear of situations that may cause stress. It is, therefore, easy to end up feeling trapped and unable to cope; and when stress persists, it can negatively affect your health and cause ED.
The best way to manage stress is by identifying the key stressors in your life and learning healthy coping strategies. Some coping approaches that may help you to reduce stress and in so doing alleviate erectile dysfunction, include:

• Learning to relax – identify an effective mode of relaxation such as meditation or yoga and make use of it regularly.
• Letting your feelings out – talk, cry, laugh, and express anger and frustrations when you need to.
• Setting realistic goals and expectations – unrealistic goals and expectations result in stress.
• Eating a healthy diet – when your body is well-nourished, it becomes better prepared to cope with stress.
• Learning how to be more assertive, rather than being aggressive.
• Accepting that there are some situations or events you simply cannot control.
• Exercising regularly- it’s easier to fight stress when your body is physically fit.
• Avoiding or limiting the use of alcohol.
• Getting adequate rest and sleep – when your body is feeling tired, this can increase stress by preventing you from thinking rationally.
• Refraining from using drugs or alcohol as a means of reducing stress.
• Praying or going to church.
• Engaging in creative activities such as writing or painting.
• Seeking professional assistance if you continue to grapple with stress.

The general is idea is to find a coping strategy that works for you since not all approaches are effective for every person. Try several until you find one or a few that work for you, and continually practice those techniques until they become your go-to habits whenever you’re feeling stressed out. Keep in mind that the key to successful stress relief is making stress management an ongoing goal.

Quit Smoking
Smoking, as well as smokeless tobacco, can contribute to the narrowing and clogging of important blood vessels – including in the penis- thus causing ED. As such, quitting smoking goes a long way towards combating erectile dysfunction.  There is no single, specific approach for quitting smoking that works best for everyone. As a matter of fact, it can take the average person up to six attempts before being successful. Therefore, you should not be discouraged.

Here are several steps that you can take, which may help you to successfully kick the habit:

• Pick a quit date: Set a day and time about one to three weeks in the future, when you expect to be fairly stress-free so you can start your quest to quit smoking. This is important because, trying to quit when you have a huge project due at work, or when you have an exciting event on your calendar such as a birthday party can be more challenging, as such situations often tempt you to light up.  To prepare for the quit date, start by cutting down on smoking, avoiding your favorite spots to smoke, and coming up with a plan for how you’ll be dealing with stressful situations without smoking.
• List your reasons for quitting: Take some time to consider all the reasons why you should stop smoking and write them down. Once you start quitting, you can refer to this list every time you get a craving, to strengthen your resolve. Some universal benefits include:
  • Your risk of erectile dysfunction, cancer, chronic lung disease, heart attacks, and other health conditions will go down.
  • Your blood pressure will drop down to normal.
  • You’ll save lots of money.
  • You’ll be more energetic.
  • You’ll add more years to your life.
  • Your skin will be less wrinkled and more hydrated.
  • Your fingers will no longer be stained with nicotine and your teeth will be less yellow.
  • You protect the health of my non-smoking family and friends.
  • You’ll be setting a better example for my children, family, and friends.
• Get your family and friends on board
  You’re more likely to quit smoking if you have the full support of the people who care about your well-being.  Request your family and friends to help keep you distracted through activities like playing games or taking walks, and to be patient with you if you become irritable as a result of nicotine withdrawal. You should also ask any smokers not to do so around you, or better still, encourage all your smoking buddies to join you in quitting.
• Identify your specific triggers
  Once you quit, you’ll still get that strong urge to smoke during the same times as you do now. As such, you need to learn your habits and identify the situations that may set off a craving, as this will enable you to plan ahead for distractions.  For instance, it could be that you normally reach for a cigarette when driving, after dinner, or when you’re feeling depressed, stressed out, or lonely. Create healthy distractions to help you avoid such potential smoking triggers such as having a pack of gum in the car, if you smoke while driving, or if you’re most tempted to smoke after dinner, plan to take a walk instead.
• Anticipate nicotine cravings
  As your body begins to undergo nicotine withdrawal, you’re very likely to experience smoking cravings.  Fortunately, these cravings are usually short-lived and tend to last for about 5 -10 minutes, after which they go away whether you have a cigarette or not.  When the craving strikes, try focusing your attention on something else, such as reviewing the list of reasons for quitting, drinking a glass of water, or taking deep breaths. Bottom line: do whatever it takes to avoid reaching for that cigarette until the craving subsides.
• Distract yourself
  Find different ways of keeping your mind off smoking like woodworking or yard work, and keep things like nuts, carrot sticks, or gum at hand to give your mouth something to do whenever a craving occurs.
• Get rid of all your cigarettes: It’s crucial that you throw away all cigarettes, including that emergency pack you’ve stashed away somewhere. To avoid being tempted.
• Consult your healthcare provider about cessation medications :  You can also talk to your doctor about trying nicotine replacement therapy or to get advice on whether a non-nicotine prescription treatment is good for you

Exercising Regularly
Among the many different healthy behaviors that can significantly improve a man’s sexual performance, physical activity tops the list.  This is because, a man’s sexual arousal depends highly on good blood flow to his penis, which makes exercising crucial. Regular exercises strengthen your heart and blood vessels, therefore, improving blood flow throughout your body. This helps to fight the development of erectile dysfunction and aids in reversing the condition once it becomes a problem.

Along with improving your ED, exercising regularly also gives you a wealth of other benefits including:

• Building your energy levels
• Strengthening your heart – hence staving off cardiovascular disease
• Lowering blood pressure
• Building and strengthening your bones
• Improving your muscle tone and strength
• Boosting your self-esteem as well as self-image
• Helps in reducing stress, anxiety, tension, and depression- thus improving your mood
• Helps to reduce excess body fat
• Helps you to sleep better
• Keeps you looking fit and healthy
• Makes you feel well rested and more relaxed

For you to reap the most benefit, you should try to exercise at least 20 to 30 minutes in a day, and if possible, on most days of the week. As a beginner, start by exercising for a few minutes a day and gradually build up to 30 minute s.  At the beginning, start by planning a routine that will be easy for you to follow and stick with, and as your exercise program becomes more routine, you can begin to vary the exercise time and activities as well.  Here are several tips to get you started on building your own exercise program:

• Choose activities that you enjoy
  First and foremost, exercising should be a fun activity and not a boring chore. Your exercise program does not necessarily have to be very elaborate. In fact, you can significantly improve your blood vessels’ health by just walking briskly on a daily basis for at least three months.  If your preference is playing basketball, that’s okay too. Simply ensure to keep up the full-court press.
• Schedule regular exercise
  When coming up with an exercise program, your aim is to be physically active on most days of the week. This can be easily achieved by adding regular exercise into your daily routine. Incorporate a variety of exercises to avoid getting bored. Alternatively, you can also enroll in scheduled exercise classes if available at your local community center.
• Mix it up with weight training
  While aerobic exercises such as jogging, walking, and swimming, are excellent for your blood vessels, resistance training has also been shown to be good as well. Doing both, will not only help in improving your overall health but will also make your exercise routine more interesting.

In addition, keep the following in mind:

• Do not allow your age to be a limiting factor
  Although the risk of erectile dysfunction increases as men get older, at the same time, regular exercise has been shown to combat the effects of aging on blood vessels.
• Discuss the exercise program with your healthcare provider
    If you have been physically inactive for a long while, you should check in with your physician. Getting your doctor’s approval is always a good idea, especially when building the exercise program from scratch. The doctor can also offer some additional exercise tips.
• Save on costs
  Exercise does not have to be an expensive activity. To save on costs, do not pay for health club memberships or go buying costly equipment unless you are absolutely sure you’ll be using them regularly.
• Stick with it
  For most beginners, exercising can be rough at first. However, if you keep exercising on a regular basis, it soon becomes a part of your lifestyle.

It’s important to keep in mind that the benefits of exercise will only last for as long as you continue to exercise on a regular basis. For men who wish to avoid ED, it is recommended that they make a long-term commitment to physical exercise.