Nocturnal emission
Encyclopedia
A nocturnal emission involves either ejaculation
during sleep
for a male, or lubrication of the vagina
for a female. It is also called a wet dream, and is sometimes considered a type of spontaneous orgasm.
Nocturnal emissions are most common during adolescence
and early young adult
years. However, nocturnal emissions may happen any time during or after puberty
. The emission may happen with or without an erection
, and it is possible to wake up during, or to simply sleep through, the ejaculation. Though nocturnal emissions are commonly associated with men, women also have them.
Some men have the dreams only at a certain age, while others have them throughout their lives following puberty. The frequency that one has nocturnal emissions has not been conclusively linked to frequency of masturbation
. Alfred Kinsey
found there may be "some correlation between the frequencies of masturbation and the frequencies of nocturnal dreams. In general the males who have the highest frequencies of nocturnal emissions may have somewhat lower rates of masturbation. Some of these males credit the frequent emissions to the fact that they do not masturbate; but it is just as likely that the reverse relationship is true, namely, that they do not masturbate because they have frequent emissions."
One factor that can affect the number of nocturnal emissions men have is whether they take testosterone-based drugs. In a 1998 study, the number of boys reporting nocturnal emissions drastically increased as their testosterone doses were increased, from 17% of subjects with no treatment to 90% of subjects at a high dose.
During puberty
, 13% of males experience their first ejaculation as a result of a nocturnal emission. Kinsey found that males experiencing their first ejaculation through a nocturnal emission were older than those experiencing their first ejaculation by means of masturbation
. The study indicates that such a first ejaculation resulting from a nocturnal emission was delayed a year or more from what would have been developmentally possible for such males through physical stimulation.
s outside of marital intercourse, or released more semen than is typical, then he was diagnosed with a disease called spermatorrhea
or "seminal weakness." A variety of drugs and other treatments, including circumcision
and castration
, were advised as treatment. Some alternative practitioners, especially herb healers
, continue to diagnose and advise treatments for cases of spermatorrhea.
held that male nocturnal emissions, unlike masturbation
, did not pollute the conscience of a man, because they were not voluntary carnal acts, and were therefore not to be considered a sin
. Augustine did, however, pray that he may be released from the "glue of lust" and thus recommended the beseechment of God's assistance in clearing one's soul of all such carnal affections.
Saint Augustine interprets the references to the uncleanliness of discharge of seed (and menstruation) in Leviticus as symbolizing disorder and unruliness as opposed to the seed forming a human being through conception which symbolizes the form and structure of a just life.
teach that under the law of Moses a man who had a nocturnal emission incurred ritual defilement.
.
A third passage relates more specifically to priests, requiring "a man who has had an emission of semen," among other causes of ritual defilement, to abstain from eating holy until after a ritual immersion in a mikveh (see paragraph below) and a subsequent night-fall (Leviticus 22:4).
The regulations required the defiled person (tamei) bathe in a mikveh. A man who had normal intercourse with his wife was also considered ceremonially unclean, and he too was required to bathe in a mikveh and he became pure after the sun had set (Leviticus 15:18). Leviticus makes similar statements about menstruation
(15:19–24) and childbirth (Leviticus 12).
In Judaism, the Tikkun HaKlali
, also known as "The General Remedy," is a set of ten Psalms designed in 1805 by Rebbe Nachman whose recital is intended to serve as repentance for nocturnal emissions.
Most rabbis feel that nocturnal emissions are associated with daytime thoughts, and there are comments impinging the wisdom of those who suffer from immodest dreams. A midrash
relates that the prophet Elisha
did not have nocturnal emissions any time he was a guest in someone's home, and attributes this control as being an attribute of holiness.
who has ejaculated cannot pray until he performs a full bath ghusl
. The prayer would not be accepted until the full bath has been taken.
A wet dream itself is, however, not a sin in Islam. Moreover, whereas a person fasting (in Ramadan
or otherwise) would normally be considered to have broken his or her fast by ejaculating on purpose (during either masturbation or intercourse), nocturnal emission is not such a cause. He or she is still required to bathe prior to undergoing some rituals in the religion.
copulating with the individual at night, an event associated with night terror
s.
Ejaculation
Ejaculation is the ejecting of semen from the male reproductory tract, and is usually accompanied by orgasm. It is usually the final stage and natural objective of male sexual stimulation, and an essential component of natural conception. In rare cases ejaculation occurs because of prostatic disease...
during sleep
Sleep
Sleep is a naturally recurring state characterized by reduced or absent consciousness, relatively suspended sensory activity, and inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles. It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, and is more easily reversible than...
for a male, or lubrication of the vagina
Vaginal lubrication
Vaginal lubrication is a lubricating fluid that is naturally produced in a woman's vagina. Vaginal lubrication or moistness is present at all times, but production increases significantly during a woman's sexual arousal in anticipation of sexual intercourse...
for a female. It is also called a wet dream, and is sometimes considered a type of spontaneous orgasm.
Nocturnal emissions are most common during adolescence
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
and early young adult
Young adult (psychology)
A young adult, according to Erik Erikson's stages of human development, is generally a person between the age of 20 - 40, whereas an adolescent is a person between the age of 13 - 19, although definitions and opinions vary. The young adult stage in human development precedes middle adulthood. A...
years. However, nocturnal emissions may happen any time during or after puberty
Puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes by which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of reproduction, as initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads; the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy...
. The emission may happen with or without an erection
Erection
Penile erection is a physiological phenomenon where the penis becomes enlarged and firm. Penile erection is the result of a complex interaction of psychological, neural, vascular and endocrine factors, and is usually, though not exclusively, associated with sexual arousal...
, and it is possible to wake up during, or to simply sleep through, the ejaculation. Though nocturnal emissions are commonly associated with men, women also have them.
In Men
The frequency of nocturnal emissions is highly variable. Some men have experienced large numbers of nocturnal emissions as teenagers, while others have never experienced one. 83% of men in the United States will experience nocturnal emissions at some time in their life. For males who have experienced nocturnal emissions the mean frequency ranges from 0.36 times per week for single 15-year-old males to 0.18 times per week for 40-year-old single males. For married males the mean ranges from 0.23 times per week for 19-year-old married males to 0.15 times per week for 50-year-old married males. In some parts of the world nocturnal emissions are more common. For example in Indonesia surveys show that 97% of men experience nocturnal emissions by the age of 24.Some men have the dreams only at a certain age, while others have them throughout their lives following puberty. The frequency that one has nocturnal emissions has not been conclusively linked to frequency of masturbation
Masturbation
Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
. Alfred Kinsey
Alfred Kinsey
Alfred Charles Kinsey was an American biologist and professor of entomology and zoology, who in 1947 founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University, now known as the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, as well as producing the Kinsey Reports and the Kinsey...
found there may be "some correlation between the frequencies of masturbation and the frequencies of nocturnal dreams. In general the males who have the highest frequencies of nocturnal emissions may have somewhat lower rates of masturbation. Some of these males credit the frequent emissions to the fact that they do not masturbate; but it is just as likely that the reverse relationship is true, namely, that they do not masturbate because they have frequent emissions."
One factor that can affect the number of nocturnal emissions men have is whether they take testosterone-based drugs. In a 1998 study, the number of boys reporting nocturnal emissions drastically increased as their testosterone doses were increased, from 17% of subjects with no treatment to 90% of subjects at a high dose.
During puberty
Puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes by which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of reproduction, as initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads; the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy...
, 13% of males experience their first ejaculation as a result of a nocturnal emission. Kinsey found that males experiencing their first ejaculation through a nocturnal emission were older than those experiencing their first ejaculation by means of masturbation
Masturbation
Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
. The study indicates that such a first ejaculation resulting from a nocturnal emission was delayed a year or more from what would have been developmentally possible for such males through physical stimulation.
Spermatorrhea
In the 18th and 19th centuries, if a patient had ejaculationEjaculation
Ejaculation is the ejecting of semen from the male reproductory tract, and is usually accompanied by orgasm. It is usually the final stage and natural objective of male sexual stimulation, and an essential component of natural conception. In rare cases ejaculation occurs because of prostatic disease...
s outside of marital intercourse, or released more semen than is typical, then he was diagnosed with a disease called spermatorrhea
Spermatorrhea
Spermatorrhea is a condition of excessive, accidental ejaculation.It is a recognized disorder in Traditional Chinese Medicine, in which certain patterns of involuntary ejaculation reflect problems with kidney qi....
or "seminal weakness." A variety of drugs and other treatments, including circumcision
Circumcision
Male circumcision is the surgical removal of some or all of the foreskin from the penis. The word "circumcision" comes from Latin and ....
and castration
Castration
Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses the functions of the testicles or a female loses the functions of the ovaries.-Humans:...
, were advised as treatment. Some alternative practitioners, especially herb healers
Herbalism
Herbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, herblore, and phytotherapy...
, continue to diagnose and advise treatments for cases of spermatorrhea.
Religious views
There are numerous religious views on nocturnal emissions. Below is a limited summary of some perspectives.Patristic Christian view
Saint AugustineAugustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
held that male nocturnal emissions, unlike masturbation
Masturbation
Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
, did not pollute the conscience of a man, because they were not voluntary carnal acts, and were therefore not to be considered a sin
Sin
In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...
. Augustine did, however, pray that he may be released from the "glue of lust" and thus recommended the beseechment of God's assistance in clearing one's soul of all such carnal affections.
Saint Augustine interprets the references to the uncleanliness of discharge of seed (and menstruation) in Leviticus as symbolizing disorder and unruliness as opposed to the seed forming a human being through conception which symbolizes the form and structure of a just life.
Jewish and Samaritan views
Some examples of passages under the Mosaic law of the BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
teach that under the law of Moses a man who had a nocturnal emission incurred ritual defilement.
.
A third passage relates more specifically to priests, requiring "a man who has had an emission of semen," among other causes of ritual defilement, to abstain from eating holy until after a ritual immersion in a mikveh (see paragraph below) and a subsequent night-fall (Leviticus 22:4).
The regulations required the defiled person (tamei) bathe in a mikveh. A man who had normal intercourse with his wife was also considered ceremonially unclean, and he too was required to bathe in a mikveh and he became pure after the sun had set (Leviticus 15:18). Leviticus makes similar statements about menstruation
Menstruation
Menstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining . It occurs on a regular basis in sexually reproductive-age females of certain mammal species. This article focuses on human menstruation.-Overview:...
(15:19–24) and childbirth (Leviticus 12).
In Judaism, the Tikkun HaKlali
Tikkun HaKlali
Tikkun HaKlali Rectification"), also known as The General Remedy, is a set of ten Psalms whose recital serves as teshuvah for all sins — in particular the sin of wasted seed through involuntary nocturnal emission or masturbation...
, also known as "The General Remedy," is a set of ten Psalms designed in 1805 by Rebbe Nachman whose recital is intended to serve as repentance for nocturnal emissions.
Most rabbis feel that nocturnal emissions are associated with daytime thoughts, and there are comments impinging the wisdom of those who suffer from immodest dreams. A midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
relates that the prophet Elisha
Elisha
Elisha is a prophet mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an. His name is commonly transliterated into English as Elisha via Hebrew, Eliseus via Greek and Latin, or Alyasa via Arabic.-Biblical biography:...
did not have nocturnal emissions any time he was a guest in someone's home, and attributes this control as being an attribute of holiness.
Islamic view
Muslim scholars consider ejaculation (regardless of cause) something that makes one spiritually impure; it means that a MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
who has ejaculated cannot pray until he performs a full bath ghusl
Ghusl
Ghusl is an Arabic term referring to the full ablution required in Islam for various rituals and prayers. The ablution becomes mandatory for any adult Muslim after having sexual intercourse, any sexual discharge , completion of the menstrual cycle, giving birth, and death by natural causes.Islam...
. The prayer would not be accepted until the full bath has been taken.
A wet dream itself is, however, not a sin in Islam. Moreover, whereas a person fasting (in Ramadan
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...
or otherwise) would normally be considered to have broken his or her fast by ejaculating on purpose (during either masturbation or intercourse), nocturnal emission is not such a cause. He or she is still required to bathe prior to undergoing some rituals in the religion.
Medieval folklore
In medieval Western occultism, nocturnal emissions were believed to be caused by a succubusSuccubus
In folklore traced back to medieval legend, a succubus is a female demon appearing in dreams who takes the form of a human woman in order to seduce men, usually through sexual intercourse. The male counterpart is the incubus...
copulating with the individual at night, an event associated with night terror
Night terror
A night terror, also known as a sleep terror, incubus attack, or pavor nocturnus, is a parasomnia disorder that predominantly affects children, causing feelings of terror or dread, typically occur in the first few hours of sleep during stage 3 or 4 NREM sleep...
s.