How Long Does Viagra Last?

Viagra can improve erections for up to 4 to 6 hours after it’s taken. After 5-6 hours, the effects will start to decline but some people may still feel them up to 12 hours after taking a dose.

Levels of Viagra are highest in your body 30 to 120 minutes after you take a dose and after 3 to 5 hours there is about only half of maximum amount of Viagra left in your body.

There’s no way to know for sure how long Viagra will last for you since it varies from person to person. The best thing to do is try Viagra for yourself and time it to see how long it lasts for you. Just remember you can only take it once every 24 hours.

How long do erections last on Viagra?

Viagra improves blood flow, helping people with erectile dysfunction get and keep erections for sex. While taking Viagra won’t cause an erection on it’s own, here are some statistics around how long your erection could last after taking a dose:

For most people, Viagra takes 30 to 60 mins to start working although it can start working as fast as 12 minutes after it’s taken. Still, to give it enough time to start working, it’s recommended you take Viagra a full hour before you want to try and have sex.

Food can push back the time Viagra starts working to 2 hours after you take it, instead of 30 to 60 mins. So, Viagra can take longer to kick in if you eat a heavy meal before you take it.

If you want a fast alternative, Spedra gets to work in 15 mins on average, making it the fastest working erectile dysfunction tablet.

There are 3 doses of Viagra: 25mg, 50mg, and 100mg.

Higher doses of Viagra last slightly longer. The highest dose available is 100mg, which lasts the longest. We recommend most people try 50mg of Viagra if they haven’t used it before. 50mg works for most men and has a lower risk of side effects than 100mg.

If you want to know how fast different Viagra does work, higher doses also take slightly longer to reach their maximum level inside the body. This means they take slightly longer to work than lower doses. For example 100mg Viagra will take longer to kick in than 50mg.

For more information see our page on Viagra dosages.

Alongside dosage, there are a few more factors which can impact how much time it takes for Viagra to start working, and how long it lasts.

What factors affect how long Viagra lasts?

Your age:

• If you’re over 65, your body gets less effective at removing Viagra from your body, meaning the effects can last longer

Alcohol:

• Alcohol decreases the blood flow to your penis making it harder to get an erection, which makes it harder for Viagra to work
• Alcohol also causes the nerves that control an erection to have a slower response, which can become permanent with chronic alcohol abuse.
• Drinking more than 2 units of alcohol while taking Viagra can increase the chance of negative side effects and make you unable to get and keep an erection

Diet:

• A large meal that is high in fat can affect the way Viagra works, making it less effective and take longer to work
• Taking the medication on an empty stomach means it will get to work much quicker

Other drugs:

• Some antibiotics can increase the amount of Viagra in your system which can make it last longer and increase the chance of side effects
• You should speak to your GP to check if you are at risk of any drug interactions

Health:

• Your overall health and fitness will affect Viagra’s working time
• Liver and kidney problems can cause Viagra to stay in your system for longer.
• Since Viagra can be unsafe for some people, make sure you tell your doctor about all health conditions you have when you order Viagra.

What you can do to make sure Viagra lasts as long as possible:

To manage these factors, there are several things you can do to make the most of your Viagra dose:

Eat a healthy, balanced diet:

• Include more whole grains, fruit and vegetables in your diet
• Reduce the amount of saturated fat and takeaways you are eating
• Reduce how much salt you're eating – 6g per day is the maximum
• Avoid grapefruit juice when you take Viagra as it can stop it from working

Cut down your drinking (and smoking):

• You should avoid alcohol when you take Viagra as it can reduce how effective it is
• If you do drink, keep it below 2 units of alcohol
• If you smoke, quitting can improve heart health, which means better blood flow to the penis

Exercise often:

• Regular exercise reduces stress levels, which can make you more relaxed during sex (and make getting and keeping an erection easier)
• It also improves heart health, which means better blood flow to the penis

Can you take more Viagra to make it last longer?

No, you can only safely take Viagra once every 24 hours. Even though the effects of Viagra won’t last longer than 12 hours, it takes 24 hours to make sure it’s safely out of your system.

Taking more than one Viagra in the same 24 hour period could mean the amount of Viagra in your body builds up to unsafe levels. Having unsafe levels of Viagra in your body increases your risk of side effects, including those that are more serious.

You also can’t take Viagra with other erectile dysfunction tablets for the same reasons.

Viagra, sildenafil (the generic name for Viagra), and Viagra Connect all have the same active ingredient, sildenafil citrate. This means they all work the same way and last the same amount of time.

Since Viagra Connect is only available in the 50mg dose and higher doses last longer, Viagra and sildenafil can last longer if you use the 100mg dose.

You can find more information on our page which looks at the differences between Viagra and sildenafil.

Yes, Cialis and Cialis Daily can both last longer than Viagra.

• Cialis has been shown to last up to 36 hours, compared to Viagra which lasts 4 to 6 hours. That’s why Cialis is sometimes called the weekend pill. Cialis can be a better choice if you want to have a bigger window of opportunity for having sex after taking your medication.
• Cialis Daily is taken once a day and once it starts working, it’s always in effect. This means you could always have an easier time getting and keeping erections, and you don’t need to plan sex in advance.

While Cialis does last longer, it has the same effect as Viagra. So if you’re unsure which to take, your GP can help you pick the right ED treatment for you.