Wet dreams are a normal, healthy part of adolescence. However, if your wet dreams are causing you embarrassment, there are some things you can do to help stop them.
Understanding Wet Dreams

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Understand why wet dreams occur. While you're asleep, involuntary ejaculations will sometimes occur when your genitals become stimulated by your clothes or sleeping position, resulting in orgasm and ejaculation. They may even happen when no stimulation to the genitals occurs. Your body produces semen and seminal fluid whether you like it or not, whether you're sexually active or not, whether you masturbate regularly or not. Your body does this regardless of religious or cultural considerations.
• If you're not orgasming regularly, but still are becoming aroused, excess seminal fluid from the prostate can make your genitals sensitive and tender, which may make wet dreams more likely.



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Understand when wet dreams occur. During puberty, hormones ramp up the production of sperm in the body, making wet dreams more likely during the early teenage years. Typically, a wet dream happens while you're asleep, but ejaculation sometimes may occur at other times you experience involuntary sexual stimulation. You might sleep through a wet dream or you might wake up instantly. You may have an erection when you experience a wet dream, or you may not.
• According to statistics, more than 80% of men experience at least one wet dream in their lifetime. The frequency of these was .36 times per week. This means that men who reported having wet dreams had, on average, one wet dream every three weeks or so.[1]
• Some men experience involuntary ejaculations in adolescence and then report that these wet dreams taper off into adulthood. Some men experience wet dreams regularly throughout their lives, regardless of frequent or infrequent sexual activity, while some men never experience them at all.
• Wet dreams are normal. However, excessive wet dreams may need to be addressed by a doctor.



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Learn common myths about wet dreams. Wet dreams are not a sign of any physiological or psychological abnormality or condition. They are normal. In fact, they’re a perfectly natural sign that your reproductive system is functioning properly. In other words, wet dreams are not "a problem," outside of the embarrassment and the mess.
• Some people used to think that wet dreams were a sign of "spermatorrhea" or "seminal weakness.” This is something that has absolutely no grounding in empirical science and is now classified as an "imaginary disease."[2] There is no such thing as seminal weakness.
• It is also a myth, however, that males "must ejaculate" regularly to get rid of built-up sperm. It's true that "unused" semen is absorbed back into the body and that you don't "need" to ejaculate regularly to live a healthy and fulfilling life. However, some men do report fewer wet dreams when they are having more orgasms from sexual activity – whether masturbation or with a partner.[3]
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Understand that wet dreams are not your fault. Your body is doing what it was made to do. Wet dreams are nothing to feel guilty about, so don't beat yourself up over something that's a perfectly normal function of your body.
• If you have a wet dream, don't panic or feel embarrassed. When you wake up, clean yourself up by washing your genitals with soap and water and change your sheets.
• If you're struggling to control your sexual urges and thoughts, or practice a religion that forbids masturbation, you still don't need to feel guilty about the occasional wet dream. It's not a sign of impurity or some failure on your part. You were asleep, after all! Talk to a trusted friend or religious advisor about the issue and seek guidance.



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Talk to your doctor. If you still have questions, your doctor can reassure you about wet dreams and what is normal. Call or make an appointment. Raise your concerns. Your doctor can be a great resource for not only wet dreams, but also for things like safe sex and sexual health.
Changing Behaviors



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Relax. In some cases, big changes or stressful periods reportedly produce more wet dreams than at other more relaxed periods of leisure. Make sure you get enough sleep and exercise, take time off from your busy schedule to relax and do things that you enjoy. Pick up new hobbies to fill your free time with fun activities and relax when you get the chance to relax.



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Sleep on your back. Wearing loose fitting clothes or sleeping naked may reduce the risk of accidental stimulation while you're asleep.
• Some people who abstain from sexual behavior change their sleep patterns by sleeping only a few hours at a time and wake up frequently during the night before returning to sleep, reducing the risk of involuntary ejaculation.



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Avoid spicy foods and stimulants. While there is no scientific link between food and wet dreams, in some cultures people think eating "heating" foods like green chiles and eggplant as well as coffee and other substances that contain caffeine, especially late at night, is “risky” behavior for arousal and wet dreams.
• If you're struggling with wet dreams, try to eat smaller meals throughout the day, staying hydrated to keep your digestion functioning properly. Go to the bathroom frequently and get plenty of exercise to relieve tension.



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Avoid overtly sexual stimuli. As much as possible, avoid situations that produce a sexual response in you. It'll be much easier to control your sexual urges if you avoid pornography, sexual programming on television, and other media. Fill your time with enriching, fulfilling activities and avoid dwelling on thoughts of sex.



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Develop a healthy relationship with sex and masturbation. If you're sexually active, communicate with your partner to maintain a healthy and open sexual relationship that keeps you both fulfilled, and talk to them about your wet dreams if you feel comfortable.
• If you're not sexually active (and even if you are) develop a healthy relationship with masturbation. If it helps keep your sexual thoughts and urges in check, it might be right for you. Many adolescents masturbate several times per week or even every day.
• If you are sexually active but still have frequent wet dreams, it might help to talk to your doctor about them.
Using Natural Home Remedies



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Try sage tea. As part of an Ayurvedic diet, sometimes sage tea is used as a night-time drink that aids sleep and relaxation, often used among monastics and other lay persons to avoid sexual thoughts and wet dreams.
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Try fenugreek and honey as a "coolant." Mixing some fenugreek powder--a common ingredient in Indian and other mid-Eastern cooking--with an equal amount of honey to mask the bitterness, is often used as a sleep aid and remedy for wet dreams.



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Drink licorice root tea. Aside from aiding your breathing and throat health, licorice root is commonly used in Eastern medicine for all sorts of "root chakra" cases. It tastes good and promotes general wellness and respiratory health.
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Try a warm bath with essential oils. It's a common misconception that "cold showers" decrease sex drive. Contrarily, cold temperatures may actually increase sperm production in the testicles. Practicing aroma therapy by taking relaxing warm baths with a few drops of peppermint, lavender, sandalwood, or rose oil is thought to reduce the possibility of wet dreams.[4]



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Try gourd extract. One common home remedy, but one without any basis in science, involves mixing equal parts of gourd extract and sesame oil and rubbing it into your scalp before bed to eliminate sexual desires. It can't hurt to try.
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