On longer streaks like now (30 days), my sleep becomes very light, and i no longer can sleep 9-10 hours, but my body wakes up after 8-8.5 hours but i feel still tired, i am having alot of nightmares in these periods, yesterday night i had 2 nightmares that woke me up from my sleep and let me tell you, it's unpleasant, waking up full of stress and fear, breathing heavily. i remember one dream, a very odd one, might indicate something deeper. I remember being surrounded by ''evil'' pidgeons in a tight space. by ''evil'' i mean i remember them having a very scary wide-eyed stare at me and a clear malicious intent. Before they attacked me i started grabbing them and throwing them at the wall, with no good effect, one by one they got back up, eventually charging at me all at once, from that point i remember waking up with great distress and fear like my body released every single bit of cortisol it had. This may sound like a stupid dream but when it feels real it really gets you. before i got into nofap i don't recall having this amount of nightmares, and such light sleep. I also can tell i feel very fidgety, i like to shake my leg when im sitting, sometimes very fast, i have no idea why, might be the depression + anxiety i suffered from for the last decade (much much better now) and the body still hangs to its old habits, so i never feel eased or rested, i don't know why, no clear reason, might be the streak (record is 47 days). I used to get mornings woods all the time before nofap, and these odd no-reason woods, you get randomly through the day, i don't miss these random woods... and perfer having no woods like i do now, and being able to control it. I still have a hard time with women, and i feel i need one at this stage of life, im 22 and never been in a relationship/had sex/kissed. 100% virgin.
If you prefer not being hard, then you might as well continue watching porn until you develop PIED. I'm not trying to be a smart-ass. It truly sounds like you don't like the feeling of being sexually functional. Forget "need". You don't need a girlfriend to experience and enjoy life, and your age is of no significance. Do you want a girlfriend? If you do, abstain. Uncomfortable though it may be. So long as you're PMOing you're essentially unavailable. As for the nightmares - they may be a symptom of the post brain-fog clarity that comes with a long periods of abstinence. Meaning they've always been there, you were just never lucid enough to remember them. I'd aim to treat the underlying stress/anxiety that are causing them. Aside from actually solving issues which may be troubling you (fights with family/friends, money trouble, etc.), I'd recommend therapy and meditation.
Don't think you need to have sex with a girl to do NoFap, I always thought that when I lost my virginity it would make NoFap easier. But that's bullshit, it's just as hard as before. Connection however does help a lot, connect with friends, family and maybe get an emotional connection with a girl if you can.