From an early age, the erect penis becomes a man’s special best friend. Over the course of his lifetime, a guy spends quite a lot of time with this firm friend. He’s there in the morning when a man wakes up and pops up regularly throughout the day. Hopefully, every guy is taking steps to ensure the best penis care for this special pal so that he stays happy and healthy. And part of proper care is just knowing a few basic facts about an erect penis.

With that in mind, here are a few things that a guy may or may not already know about his tumescent member.

1) Scientists classify erections in three categories.

To most guys, a penis is erect or it isn’t. Scientists, though, like to be more specific and so use three different categories when discussing erections: reflexogenic, psychogenic and nocturnal. Basically, reflexogenic means an erection caused by some form of physical stimulation. Psychogenic describes an erection created in response to one’s own fantasies and thoughts. And, not surprisingly, nocturnal are those erections that pop up while a guy is sleeping.

2) Boys get erect while still in the womb.

With all the ultrasounds and various other gadgets now used for monitoring the fetus, doctors have discovered that little boy fetuses start having erections somewhere around 16 weeks of age. Well, guys will be guys.

3) The penis needs a decent amount of blood to get firm.

As most men know, a rush of blood into the penis is what causes the organ to swell and stiffen. An average of 4.5 ounces of blood is needed to achieve the erection process. For the area involved, that’s a fairly large amount.

4) Doughnuts can make a guy excited.

That may seem strange, but a study indicated that the smell of baking doughnuts can increase blood flow to the penis by about 13%. It may not produce a full-blown erection, but it does cause a bit of stirring down there.

5) Men average about 14-16 erections in a 24-hour period.

There is variation in this, of course, and some teen-agers may feel that they never stop having an erection. But studies show that the typical man has 11 erections while he is awake during the day. At night, he will have 3 to 5 more during his sleep phases.

6) Erections have something in common with electricity.

This may seem odd, but nitric oxide, which increases the blood flow to the penis to create an erection, is produced by lightning in nature. (Fortunately, there are many other ways to get nitric oxide other than being struck by lightning.)

7) More erections are good for a man.

"Use it or lose it" is true for penis health as it is for many other things. Having sex, whether with oneself or a partner, helps maintain the proper functioning of the organ. So using those erections helps to keep the penis in better health.

Erect penis facts are fun to know and share, but they are also very important. The more a man knows about his member, the more able he is to be comfortable with it and keep it healthy. One excellent way to maintain that health is via the regular use of a top-notch penis health crème(health professionals recommend Man1 Man Oil). Choose a crème with L-arginine; like the lightning mentioned above, L-arginine is part of the process that creates nitric oxide, which helps keep penile blood vessels open. It also helps to use a crème that includes vitamin C. This vitamin’s health benefits include being an important structural component of blood vessels and aiding in collagen production for penile tissue firmness. Using a crème like Man1 Man Oil has important benefits for any man.