Nocturnal emission: Difference between revisions

A nocturnal emission or wet dream is a type of spontaneous orgasm, involving either ejaculation during sleep for a male, or lubrication of the vagina for a female.^[1] Nocturnal emissions are most common during adolescence and early young adult years, but they may happen any time after puberty. It is possible to wake up during a wet dream, or to simply sleep through it.

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. 84% of men in the United States will experience nocturnal emissions at some time in their life.^[2] For males who have experienced nocturnal emissions the mean frequency ranges from 0.36 times per week (about once every three weeks) for single 15-year-old males to 0.18 times per week (about once every five-and-a-half weeks) for 40-year-old single males. For married males the mean ranges from 0.23 times per week (about once per month) for 19-year-old married males to 0.15 times per week (about once every two months) for 50-year-old married males.^[3] 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.^[4]

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 emissions. 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."^[5]

One factor that can affect the number of nocturnal emissions men have is whether they take testosterone-based drugs. In a 1998 study by Robby C, 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.^[6]

During puberty, 13% of males experience their first ejaculation as a result of a nocturnal emission.^[7] 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.^[8]

The frequency of nocturnal emissions is variable, just as with men. In 1953, sex researcher Alfred Kinsey found that nearly 40% of the women he interviewed have had one or more nocturnal orgasm or 'wet dream'. Those who report experiencing these say that they usually have them several times a year and that they have first occurred as early as thirteen, and usually by the age of 21. Dr. Kinsey defined female nocturnal orgasm as sexual arousal during sleep that awakens one to perceive the experience of orgasm. Girls and women who don't have orgasms in their sleep, or who don't know whether or not they've had them, are perfectly normal. Studies have found that more boys and men have spontaneous nocturnal sexual experiences than girls and women, but female wet dreams may be more difficult to identify with certainty than men's.^[9]

In the 18th and 19th centuries, if a patient had ejaculations 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.^[10][11][12] Some alternative practitioners, especially herb healers, continue to diagnose and advise treatments for cases of spermatorrhea.^{[citation needed]}

There are numerous religious views on nocturnal emissions. Below is a limited summary of some perspectives.

Saint Augustine 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.^[13] 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.^[14]

The second part of the prayer Te lucis ante terminum (Before the Ending of the Day) said during the late evening Compline service, part of the Liturgy of the Hours, might refer to nocturnal emissions and their supposed connection to erotic dreams:

Procul recedant somnia et noctium phantasmata hostemque nostrum comprime ne polluantur corpora

Literary translation: "Let dreams and nocturnal phantasies run far away; supress our enemy, lest our bodies be polluted."

Some examples of passages under the Mosaic law of the Bible teach that under the law of Moses a man who had a nocturnal emission incurred ritual defilement.

"If a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole body in water and be unclean [Hebrew tameh] until the evening. And every garment and every skin on which the semen comes shall be washed with water and be unclean until the evening."

— Leviticus 15:16–17 English Standard Version

"When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every evil thing. If any man among you becomes unclean [Hebrew lo yihyeh tahor, literally 'is not clean'] because of a nocturnal emission [literally: 'by reason of what happens to him by night'], then he shall go outside the camp. He shall not come inside the camp, but when evening comes, he shall bathe himself in water, and as the sun sets, he may come inside the camp."

— Deuteronomy 23:9–11 English Standard Version

"16. And if any man’s seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall wash all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the even. 17. And every garment, and every skin, whereon is the seed of copulation, shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the even."^[15] (Leviticus 15:16-17, King James Version).

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.

Muslim scholars consider ejaculation something that makes one temporarily ritually impure known as Junub; it means that a Muslim who has had an orgasm or ejaculated must have a Ghusl (which means: full ablution) before they can touch the Qur'an or perform the formal prayer known as salat. Informal supplications and prayers known as du'a do not require a bath.

A wet dream is 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.

In European folklore, nocturnal emissions were believed to be caused by a succubus or incubus copulating with the individual at night, an event associated with sleep paralysis and possibly night terrors.

Look up wet dream in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Kinsey, Alfred C. (1948). Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Co. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)