[1] Nocturnal emissions can happen after stressful dreams in REM sleep which activate the sympathetic nervous system, hence leading to ejaculation.
[4][5] In the largest study, which included nocturnal emission samples from 10 men with idiopathic anejaculation, the semen concentration was equivalent to samples obtained from the same men by penile vibratory stimulation, although the proportions of sperm which were motile, and which were of normal morphology, were higher in the nocturnal emission specimens.
[4] In a detailed study, men and women reported that roughly 8% of their everyday dreams contain some form of sexual-related activity.
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.
[12] In 1953, sex researcher Alfred Kinsey found that nearly 40% of the women he interviewed had had one or more nocturnal orgasms or wet dreams.
[citation needed] Studies have found that males typically have more frequent spontaneous nocturnal sexual experiences than females.
Some examples of passages under the Mosaic law of the Hebrew Bible teach that under the law of Moses, a man who had a nocturnal emission incurred ritual defilement (as with any other instance of ejaculation): "If a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole body in water and be unclean [Hebrew tameh] until the evening.
[17] 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.
[citation needed] 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.
[citation needed] Muslim scholars consider ejaculation something that makes one temporarily ritually impure, a condition known as junub, meaning that a Muslim who has had an orgasm or ejaculated must have a ghusl (consisting of ablution followed by bathing the entire body so that not a single hair remains dry on the whole body—may also require one to rub the body according to Maliki school of thought, dalk in Arabic—while showering) before they can read any verse of the Quran or perform the formal prayers.
[citation needed] The Hindu text suggests those who had nocturnal emissions to bathe and chant mantras praying to return their virility.
The literature suggests a "cure" for nocturnal emissions, which prescribes fried leek seeds three times a day.