Improving Male Sexual Health, Function & Fertility | Dr. Michael Eisenberg

Welcome to the Huberman Lab Podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life. I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. My guest today is Dr. Michael Eisenberg. Dr. Michael Eisenberg is a medical doctor specializing in urology and an expert in male sexual function and fertility. He is both a clinician, who sees patients, as well as a research scientist, having published over 300 peer-reviewed articles on male sexual function, urology, and fertility, and he is considered one of the world's foremost experts in male sexual health. Today, we discuss a broad range of topics important to all men, including erectile dysfunction and function. We also discuss prostate health and urinary health. We discuss fertility and sperm count. We discuss even topics seemingly esoteric, such as why penile lengths are actually increasing over time while sperm counts seem to be decreasing. Today, you'll also learn some very interesting surprises, such as the fact that a very, very small percentage of erectile dysfunction actually stems from hormone dysfunction. Rather, the vast majority of erectile dysfunction stems from issues that are either vascular, that is, related to blood flow, or neural. And today, you'll learn about a large variety of treatments for erectile dysfunction. Dr. Eisenberg also dispels a lot of common myths that you hear out there, both on the internet and in popular culture, that relate to male sexual health and function. By the end of today's episode, I assure you that you will have a thorough understanding of what male sexual health is, how it relates to other aspects of health, and how to think about treating, maintaining, and improving all aspects of male sexual health, fertility, and function. Before we begin, I'd like to emphasize that this podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford. It is, however, part of my desire and effort to bring zero-cost-to-consumer information about science and science-related tools to the general public. In keeping with that theme, I'd like to thank the sponsors of today's podcast. Our first sponsor is ROKA. ROKA makes eyeglasses and sunglasses that are of the absolute highest quality. The company was founded by two all-American swimmers from Stanford, and everything about ROKA eyeglasses and sunglasses were designed with performance in mind. Now, I've spent a lifetime working on the biology of the visual system, and I can tell you that your visual system has to contend with an enormous number of challenges in order for you to be able to see clearly. ROKA understands this and has designed eyeglasses both for sport and for wearing in casual settings or to work or to dinner that always allow you to see with crystal clarity. Their eyeglasses are extremely lightweight, and they won't slip off your face, even if you get sweaty. I wear ROKA sunglasses when I'm driving into direct sunlight or when it's particularly bright during the middle of the day. If you'd like to try ROKA eyeglasses or sunglasses, go to ROKA, that's R-O-K-A, dot-com and enter the code Huberman to save 20% off your first order. Again, that's ROKA, R-O-K-A, dot-com and enter the code Huberman at checkout. Today's episode is also brought to us by Eight Sleep. Eight Sleep makes smart mattress covers with cooling, heating, and sleep tracking capacity. I've spoken many times before on this podcast about the fact that getting a great night's sleep really is the foundation of mental health, physical health, and performance. One of the key things to getting a great night's sleep is to make sure that the temperature of your sleeping environment is correct, and that's because in order to fall and stay deeply asleep, your body temperature actually has to drop by about one to three degrees, and in order to wake up feeling refreshed and energized, your body temperature actually has to increase by about one to three degrees. With Eight Sleep, you can program the temperature of your sleeping environment in the beginning, middle, and end of your night. It has a number of other features, like tracking the amount of rapid eye movement and slow wave sleep that you get, things that are essential to really dialing in the perfect night's sleep for you. I've been sleeping on an Eight Sleep mattress cover for well over two years now, and it has greatly improved my sleep. I fall asleep far more quickly, I wake up far less often in the middle of the night, and I wake up feeling far more refreshed than I ever did prior to using an Eight Sleep mattress cover. If you'd like to try Eight Sleep, you can go to eight sleep dot com slash huberman to save $150 off their Pod 3 cover. Eight Sleep currently ships to the USA, Canada, UK, select countries in the EU, and Australia. Again, that's eight sleep dot com slash huberman. And now for my discussion with Dr. Michael Eisenberg. Dr. Eisenberg, welcome.