Researchers in Sydney and Melbourne have confirmed not just that sleep apnoea treatment helps cure erectile dysfunction (ED), but also that sleep apnoea treatment works better than ED drugs. That’s right, despite the fact that these drug companies are constantly targeting you with their advertising, they are not the best treatment for your ED.
Small Study of Two Treatments
Researchers recruited 61 men from Sydney and Melbourne who had both conditions, but had never been treated for them. They used to randomization axes to create groups of men that received one, two, or no treatments for their ED. In the first randomization, 31 men were given dummy CPAP while 30 men were given real CPAP. On the other axes, 31 men were given ED drugs while 30 were given placebo pills. In the end, there were four different combinations: CPAP and ED drugs, CPAP and a placebo, ED drug and dummy CPAP, and dummy CPAP and placebo.
Subjects were kept on their treatment for three months before results were gauged.
Objective and Subjective Measures of Health
Researchers used both objective and subjective measures of sexual health to gauge the success of the various treatments. An objective measure of sexual health is the presence of nighttime erections, which should occur about every 90 minutes during REM sleep. This helps maintain the function of the sexual system.
Sleep apnoea interrupts the REM sleep cycle, preventing men from experiencing nighttime erections, which may contribute to sexual dysfunction.
They found that men who got CPAP experienced more nighttime erections than they had before, and more than those who didn’t get CPAP.
In addition, men were surveyed about how they felt about the results of their treatment. Men who got CPAP reported more satisfaction than those who got ED drugs.
Of course, ED has many potential causes, and sleep apnoea treatment should not be viewed as a universal cure.
But Is Treatment a Barrier to Intimacy?
There is a problem with this study, though, because CPAP itself can be a barrier to intimacy among couples. CPAP is an invasive treatment, one that follows a couple into their most private space and separates them with hoses, straps, and masks (all of which could, admittedly, be erotic under slightly different conditions).
But there is a better way. Oral appliances are comfortable, easy to wear, and easy to remove. They can be discreetly used by either partner and quickly discarded as necessary.
If you would like to learn more about the benefits of discreet and effective sleep apnoea treatment in Sydney, please call (02) 9686 7375 for an appointment at My Hills Dentist.
