How to get better erections without medication

Getting harder erections that last longer may seem unachievable, but there are actually quite a few things you can do on a daily basis that will make it easier to get and keep an erection while getting you healthier at the same time. That’s because erections are kind of like the canary in the coal mine when it comes to vascular (blood vessels) and nerve health. If you have an issue with either of those systems, difficulty getting or maintaining an erection may be the very first sign. 

Read on to learn what steps you can take to get harder and longer-lasting erections naturally and what to do if all else fails.

Getting hard can be surprisingly complicated. Your head, heart, hormones, blood vessels, and so much more have to work together perfectly to pull off this crazy thing we call an erection. So, don't be bummed if things don't always go as planned. It happens. The good news is that taking care of your body and figuring out if there are any lifestyle changes you need to make can be an impactful way to naturally improve your erections. 

When it comes to getting harder and longer-lasting erections, long-term lifestyle changes are a great choice. Exercise and diet, among other ways to get an erection sans-meds, may be easier next steps than you think. (And, at the end of the day, there’s no shame in getting a little help from medications, too.) 

Since your blood vessels need to deliver blood to your penis to create a firm erection, any disruption in blood flow to your penis can make it hard to get…hard. 

If you have a personal or family history of heart disease, getting a regular check-up with your primary care provider or getting seen by a specialist might be the first step in determining if you have an underlying issue. 

Your doctor will also be able to evaluate you for any conditions that can affect nerve function, such as diabetes. Diabetes and prediabetes are very common and frequently underdiagnosed, and they can result in high levels of sugar in your bloodstream that can damage the nerves that play an outsized role in getting an erection. 

Finally, if you have overweight or obesity, you’re more likely to have erectile dysfunction (ED). So weight management, in addition to its benefits for your heart and other systems, can offer the added benefit of a better time in the bedroom. 

Also important to consider? Habits such as cigarette and marijuana smoking and alcohol consumption. Definitive research is still (surprisingly) a little murky on the relationship between alcohol consumption and erectile dysfunction. However, most healthcare providers will agree that moderation is a good idea when it comes to alcohol, especially on date night.

In the long term, heavy alcohol use increases the risk of liver disease, boosting the chances of ED. In the short term, it depresses your central nervous system, decreasing overall arousal. As a general rule, depressants are bad for sexual performance.

For most men, having one drink won't impact sexual performance in any meaningful way. However, it’s a good idea to limit yourself to a max of two drinks before sexual activity, especially if you’ve experienced erectile dysfunction in the past. And drinking heavily while taking ED medication is not advised. 

While the exact connection between marijuana and tobacco use and erectile dysfunction remains unclear, there have been multiple studies that indicate that ED is more common among people who use marijuana regularly. So if you’re having trouble getting it up, scaling back in the smoking department might help. In terms of tobacco, extensive blood vessel damage is a known effect of chronic smoking, and without proper blood flow, erectile strength can be curbed.

You've likely heard this one before: Exercise is good for you. And while it may seem like boring medical advice to tell you to exercise regularly, cardiovascular health and erections are intimately linked. 

Studies link atherosclerosis—the buildup of fat and cholesterol in your blood vessels—to erectile dysfunction. Diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and high cholesterol increase the risk for atherosclerosis and erectile dysfunction. 

The blood vessels in your penis are smaller and narrower than the arteries in other parts of your body. What that means is that they’ll be among the first to clog. The first sign of high blood pressure, heart disease, high cholesterol, and clogged arteries may not be a stroke or a heart attack. It could be erectile dysfunction. 

Regular physical activity reduces your risk for cardiovascular disease (woo!), but it also lowers your risk of ED. Try to think of a better reason to sweat through a spin class. And the good news is, you don't have to turn into a gym rat to see results—just incorporate a few daily activities into your routine. About 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a day seems to be the magic number, and it's easier to do this than you think:

• Park in that faraway spot that nobody wants. You'll add a few minutes to your morning walk, and you'll also be the office hero. People will throw a parade in your honor! (Okay, maybe not, but if they do, opt to walk in the parade rather than riding on a float).

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Get familiar with all the fire exits in your workplace while getting your heart pumping.

• Take a walk whenever you make a phone call. It's called a mobile phone for a reason, so get up and get the blood pumping during your next quarterly recap or big sales call.

Adding a few minutes of exercise to your day can add years to your life—literally. And if that exercise results in stronger, more frequent erections, that's even better. 

When it comes to erections, you are what you eat. (Maybe that eggplant emoji is secretly genius.) To be fair, no food can fix erectile dysfunction. Still, a healthy diet can help manage risk factors for atherosclerosis, obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes, which may also help stave off erection problems. 

Some research has shown that a Mediterranean diet including fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats are associated with a lower risk of ED. And the cool thing about eating a healthy diet is that you don't necessarily have to lose weight to get better erections. You just have to improve the quality of the food you eat.

Several peer-reviewed studies, such as the Massachusetts Male Aging Study, have linked a healthy diet to reduced risk for ED—not to mention other conditions, such as type 2 diabetes and obesity. The secret is increasing fruits, veggies, and whole grains while reducing processed foods, sugars, and red meat.

Skip that third sugar in your morning coffee. Make the switch from regular soda to diet. When you feel ready, consider making the jump to drinking just water. Regarding meals, replace half of your red meat with a vegetable or swap out beef with chicken or fish once a week.

The key to making lasting dietary changes is small moves. Gradual changes will help your taste buds and habits adjust to a new reality without realizing you're eating healthier. 

Everyone is different, so not every diet will work for you. You can experiment with plans like the Mediterranean diet or the keto diet if appropriate for your other healthcare conditions or just follow these guidelines to find a hybrid eating plan that works for you. But remember, start small. Don't try to change everything about your habits in one huge overhaul.

Eat more of these:

• Fruits

• Vegetables

• Whole grains

• Legumes

Eat less of these:

• Red meat (processed and unprocessed)

• Processed food

• High-sugar drinks (like soda)

If you haven’t been prioritizing getting a good night’s sleep, now’s the time to change that. Research suggests that poor sleep and ED go hand in hand. Sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome have both been linked to ED. 

Even if you don’t have a sleep disorder, poor sleep may be contributing to your ED. One study found that men with ED were more likely to score lower on several measures related to sleep health, including:

• How long it took them to fall asleep

• Total sleep time

• Total time spent in deep sleep

• Total time spent in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep

A growing body of evidence suggests short sleep (regularly getting 6 or fewer hours of sleep) in general may be a risk factor for ED. It’s also linked to many of the health issues that can contribute to ED, such as heart disease and obesity. 

Getting better sleep may not only improve your erections, but your overall health as well. So, do what you can to get a healthy 7–9 hours of sleep per night, starting with going to bed early enough to get that much sleep. Other sleep hygiene tips include:

• Avoiding naps during the day

• Limiting your caffeine intake in the evening

• Exercising regularly

• Getting enough sunlight during the day

• Limiting your screen time before bed

ED on its own is stressful enough, but here’s one more thing to stress about: the more stressed out you are, the harder it may be to get hard. Stress and mental health disorders, such as depression and anxiety, have a strong overlap with ED. One small study even found a correlation between burnout and sexual dysfunction in men. 

Men with anxiety disorders have a higher likelihood of developing ED, in part due to the antidepressants they may take to manage their anxiety. Moreover, men with anxiety disorders may experience more severe ED. 

If your stress is disrupting your daily life, get help. Cognitive behavioral therapy can help you better manage your stress, anxiety, and depression. At home, you can also practice stress management techniques to ease your mind and help you relax. These may include:

• Deep breathing exercises

• Mindfulness exercises

• Progressive muscle relaxation

• Guided imagery or visualization

• Meditation 

Pelvic floor exercises, sometimes referred to simply as kegels, may also help you get harder erections without medication, according to a meta review of 10 studies. In one study, 87% of men experienced harder erections after 20 sessions of pelvic floor exercises, though different studies of similar interventions showed varying results.

Here’s how to perform pelvic floor exercises:

• Tense up as if you were trying to stop yourself from peeing or passing gas. The muscles you’re contracting are your pelvic floor.

• Hold the contraction for three seconds.

• Release and relax for three seconds.

• Repeat for 10–15 reps.

Experts recommend performing kegels three times a day, for about 5 minutes each session.

To get and maintain an erection for 30 minutes, there are a few techniques you can try. First of all, we recommend zooming out. It turns out that the ideal length of sex is nowhere near that “all night long” trope we’ve all heard in movies and pop culture. In fact, a study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine pegged the ideal length of sex according to sex therapists at around 7-13 minutes. Shocking. We know. 

The researchers interviewed an experienced group of sex therapists and found that anything under three minutes was typically construed as “too short,” 3-7 minutes was considered adequate, but 10-30 minutes was actually considered “too long.”

So before you go hunting for that magic solution for longer-lasting erections, consider quality over quantity. Aim for oodles of foreplay and make the most of penetration. And if you’re finding that you’re falling in the under-3-minute range, consider masturbating a few hours before sex or learn about whether you might have a treatable condition called premature ejaculation (PE). Desensitizing wipes and creams are an easy way to help you last longer. 

Once you have your diet and exercise in check and you’re limiting your alcohol and smoking, any remaining erectile woes can typically be solved with safe and effective medications, such as Viagra. Not a fan of popping pills? No worries. You can still reap the rewards of traditional ED medications with options such as Ro Sparks—a sublingual treatment (think: lozenge) that combines sildenafil and tadalafil (the active ingredients in Viagra and Cialis)—or Daily Rise Gummies—a fruit flavored gummy that contains an extra-strength daily dose of tadalafil (the active ingredient in Cialis). 

Gone are the days of needing to spend hours in a waiting room or to be face-to-face with a doctor to discuss your sex life. You can now get erectile dysfunction medications online from licensed healthcare professionals that will be shipped straight to your door in discreet packaging. 

Bottom line: Changing lifestyle factors are good for your health anyway. But if you’re still experiencing ED despite attempting to change your lifestyle, you might want to get your testosterone level checked—low testosterone can contribute to a reduced sex drive. And if you feel ready, don’t be afraid to talk to your healthcare provider about ED meds; they’re safe and effective.

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How we reviewed this article

Every article on Health Guide goes through rigorous fact-checking by our team of medical reviewers. Our reviewers are trained medical professionals who ensure each article contains the most up-to-date information, and that medical details have been correctly interpreted by the writer.

Current version

May 28, 2024

Written by

Michael Martin

Fact checked by

Raagini Yedidi, MD

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About the medical reviewer

Raagini Yedidi, MD

Raagini Yedidi, MD, is an internal medicine resident and medical reviewer for Ro.