It Comes at Night: A Nocturnal Emissions Historical Review

Nocturnal emissions are a normal biologic function of sexual arousal and ejaculation during sleep, often beginning in puberty. Historically, views on nocturnal emissions have varied, but they are an important aspect of sexual culture, as they may represent one of a person's earliest encounters with sexuality, often beginning during puberty. We sought to characterize the sexual culture views on nocturnal seminal emissions in the early 1900s and compare and contrast that to the views of the modern era as it relates to destigmatization of sexual health. A non-systematic review was performed to characterize historical views on nocturnal emissions, including cultural and religious perspectives. Modern perspectives on social media platform TikTok were also reviewed and compared to historical viewpoints. Throughout history, views on nocturnal emissions have varied, from accepting as a biological function to deeply stigmatized with sinful connotations. There remain medically unfounded claims about nocturnal emissions today highlighting an opportunity for sexual medical care providers to clarify and destigmatize the topic particularly for adolescents who may be most impressionable as they experience nocturnal emissions for the first time.