Can Viagra help you last longer in bed?

You’re not alone if you’re worried about your sexual stamina. 31% of men have reported they have experienced a degree of sexual dysfunction, most commonly being premature ejaculation (PE).

This is when a man ejaculates sooner than expected during intercourse. It occurs in men who cannot naturally control their ejaculation and can’t last longer than 2 minutes during sex.

How long are you supposed to last?

Firstly, what does it mean when men say they want to ‘last longer’ in bed? What they’re usually referring to is the length of time it takes to ejaculate.

It’s quite common for men to want to improve their sexual stamina so they can last longer in bed, even if they don’t meet the clinical definition of PE, but there’s no specific time for how long you should and shouldn’t be lasting in bed.

The NHS website says: ‘A study looking at 500 couples from five different countries found the average time taken to ejaculate during intercourse was around five-and-a-half minutes.’

It is up to you and your partner to decide if you are sexually satisfied.

Can Viagra help you last longer?

There is a variety of techniques and treatments which can help treat premature ejaculation, but is Viagra one of them?

Many men believe that although Viagra is primarily used for treating erectile dysfunction problems, it can also help with premature ejaculatory problems and make you last longer in bed.

Despite Viagra’s main purpose of helping men achieve and maintain an erection, there have been a few studies on Viagra’s effect at treating PE problems.

• A study from 2007 found that after using Viagra for 6 months, it was effective at treating PE and was found to be much more effective than the squeeze technique.
• Another study concluded that the patients who took sildenafil (generic version of Viagra) found an increase in ejaculatory control, confidence and overall improved sexual satisfaction in comparison to a placebo.

Although the results from these two studies is interesting, it isn’t enough evidence to suggest that Viagra is a suitable treatment to help delay ejaculation.

What can you experience with Viagra?

Viagra should only be used in adult men who suffer from erectile dysfunction. The active ingredient in Viagra (sildenafil) works by relaxing the muscles and increasing the blood flow into the penis. This helps men achieve and maintain an erection long enough for sexual activity.

Viagra should not be considered as an option to treat PE issues.

As well as helping maintain erections, you may experience other benefits if you suffer from erectile dysfunction and take Viagra. These include:

• Increase in confidence
  Viagra can make you more confident sexually because you are able to maintain an erection during sexual activity. This will increase the pleasure and reduce the feelings of nervousness or anxiety which may have previously been felt.
• Enhanced sexual experience
  Although Viagra can’t increase libido or help improve the actual feeling of sexual intercourse, men have reported that taking Viagra improved their sexual experience because they were able to achieve and maintain an erection for a longer period of time, increasing their level of enjoyment.

What can’t Viagra help with?

Viagra is often misrepresented in the media for use as a ‘sex drug’. Viagra is not an aphrodisiac and in order for it to work effectively, you must be sexually stimulated as well.

Along with not being able to help treat PE issues, Viagra also can’t help with:

• Boosting sex drive
  Although some people believe that Viagra can help you feel more sexually aroused, this is however not true. All Viagra does is increase the blood flow to the penis allowing you to gain and maintain an erection when you are sexually aroused.
• Increase your penis size
  Viagra will not help increase the physical size of the penis than its normal size.

How can I last longer in bed?

Viagra is worth considering if you suffer from erectile dysfunction. Unless you frequently lose your erection during sexual activity, it won’t help you last longer in bed.

To help you delay your ejaculation and last longer in bed, you can treat it in a variety of ways.

• Medication, such as Priligy.
• Behavioural techniques e.g. squeeze method, start and stop method.
• Topical anaesthetics and condoms.
• Psychological assistance.

We have covered the different ways you can prevent PE in more detail in our blog post.