The timing of ejaculation is generally used as an objective measure of ejaculatory control. So, there is no fixed time for defining ‘too soon’ and it varies among the individuals or couples. Say for an example, if a man/couple wants to ejaculate after 40 minutes of sexual intercourse and if he ejaculates at 25 minutes that is still premature ejaculation for him /couple. On the other hand, if the man/couple wants to ejaculate in 3 minutes but actually ejaculated in 1 min, that is still premature ejaculation for him/them. For a heterosexual man, a commonly used definition of premature ejaculation is ejaculating between 1-2 minutes of his penis entering the woman’s vagina. Studies have shown that most men ejaculate within 3 to 5 minutes after penetration.

Premature ejaculation can be basically divided into two categories –

1. Primary or lifelong premature ejaculation is when a man has not had control of ejaculation from the time of his first sexual experience. If left untreated, this will continue for the rest of his life.

2. Acquired premature ejaculation is usually when there has been a period of normal functioning before the premature ejaculation began. Acquired premature ejaculation often happens as a result of psychological (relationship) issues or due to other erectile problems.
Most men will experience rapid ejaculation on some occasions. This is nothing to worry about. It becomes a problem only when it occurs during most sexual interactions.

Before I can give advice about how to solve the issue, we need to understand that ejaculation is in fact part of a complex process which involves different parts of your body including the brain work together to contract the pelvic muscles that control ejaculation. Another thing you need to realise is that a male orgasm or a climax (the peak of sexual excitement) is actually a separate event from ejaculation. Since they happen so close to another we fail to appreciate the difference.