Short Sleep Duration and Erectile Dysfunction: A Review of the Literature

Fuxun Zhang; Yang Xiong; Feng Qin; Jiuhong Yuan

doi:10.2147/NSS.S375571

Short Sleep Duration and Erectile Dysfunction: A Review of the Literature

Nat Sci Sleep. 2022 Oct 27:14:1945-1961. doi: 10.2147/NSS.S375571. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Fuxun Zhang^#^{1

2}, Yang Xiong^#^{1

2}, Feng Qin¹, Jiuhong Yuan^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Andrology Laboratory, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People's Republic of China.
² Department of Urology, Institute of Urology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People's Republic of China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

The meaning of sleep has puzzled people for millennia. In modern society, short sleep duration is becoming a global problem. It has been established that short sleep duration can increase the risk of several diseases, such as cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Currently, a growing body of research has revealed a possible link between sleep disorders and erectile dysfunction (ED). However, the mechanisms linking short sleep duration and ED are largely unknown. Thus, we provide a review of clinical trials and animal studies. In this review, we propose putative pathways connecting short sleep duration and ED, including neuroendocrine pathways and molecular mechanisms, aiming to pave the way for future research. Meanwhile, the assessment and improvement of sleep quality should be recommended in the diagnosis and treatment of ED patients.

Keywords: erectile dysfunction; molecular mechanisms; short sleep duration; signaling pathway; sleep disorder.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81871147 and No. 82071639) and the Sichuan Science and Technology Program (No. 2022YFS0028 and No. 2022YFS0134).