Erectile dysfunction is usually thought of as something waiting for men at the end of middle age, right there with back pain and developing a sudden interest in WWII documentaries. But younger men deal with it too, and research keeps pointing to work stress as one possible reason.
A recent study of 826 full-time working men ages 22 to 40 found that erectile function got worse as job stress went up. Men in the highest-stress group were 10 times more likely to report ED than men in the lowest-stress group, and more than 54% of them had problems. Researchers looked at work hours, control over decisions, support from supervisors, relationships with coworkers, and pressure around promotion. Long hours and promotion anxiety did the most damage.
The body, unsurprisingly, doesn’t care about deadlines and quotas. Long stretches of stress can raise cortisol, and higher cortisol can interfere with testosterone. That can affect libido and erections. Not ideal.
This Could Be the Reason Younger Men Are Struggling With ED
Stanford Medicine urologist Dr. Michael Eisenberg has described the process: “Stress alters the hormonal and vascular balance needed for erections, often creating a vicious cycle that feeds into itself.” ED can create a second round of anxiety once it happens. Men can start worrying about whether it will happen again, and that anticipation can make sexual performance harder the next time.
Dr. Leon Telis, a board-certified urologist and director of the Men’s Health Program at Mount Sinai Hospital, told the New York Post that a sizable share of ED in younger men can be psychosomatic, driven by stress and anxiety rather than an underlying physical condition. That fits with the workplace study, where the two biggest stressors were long hours and pressure to get promoted. Your body can be perfectly capable of having an erection while your brain is still sitting in a meeting that should have been an email.
Also interesting, strong supervisor support was associated with healthier testosterone levels. That means the guy approving your PTO and deciding whether every email needs an emergency Zoom could be affecting your stress levels in a very literal way.
Mandatory wellness seminars and a sad fruit plate in the office kitchen won’t undo months of chronic stress. If work is starting to take its toll on your sex life, that’s a strong sign the consequences are no longer confined to office hours.
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