Erectile dysfunction

Yes, you read this correctly. Porn use can cause erectile dysfunction. How? Dopamine activates the sexual centers in the hypothalamus of the brain, which sends signals to the erection center in the spinal cord, which in turn sends signals to cause an erection. The same process that causes pornography to be addictive—the overloading of dopamine receptors—causes these receptors to shut down. When this happens, erections are more difficult to maintain. A second factor of porn addiction leading to erectile dysfunction is that the average time spent on a porn scene or image is eighteen seconds. This trains the brain to be sort of hyperactive or ADHD and requires constantly changing images to maintain the dopamine flow in the brain that results in erection. This results in not being able to maintain an erection with a real person. Additionally, the process of masturbation creates a sensory training in the penis so that only self-stimulation will produce an erection. In short, (1) pornography trains the brain to prefer images on the screen to a real person, (2) a need to change the image (or person) every eighteen seconds, and (3) self-stimulation to obtain and maintain an erection.