Thread: Effects of Masturbation

Surprisingly little research attention has been paid to the specific effects of masturbation. The history of masturbation is littered with moral condemnation and scientific inaccuracies regarding its negative effects but thankfully there finally seems to be medical agreement that masturbation is a healthy form of sexual expression, and one with more positive than negative effects.

Still many of us believe the masturbation myths we are raised with, which makes it worthwhile to learn the truth about the effects of masturbation on the body and the mind.

Masturbation can increase self-knowledge:
Sex educators don’t call masturbation the cornerstone of sexual health for nothing. Masturbation is the first, safest, and best way to get to know how your sexual body works. You can learn what turns you on and what doesn’t. You can learn how to give yourself sexual pleasure in a hurry, or when you’ve got nothing but time. As an educational tool, masturbation is better than any textbook, video or website you’ll ever read (that includes this one!).

Masturbation can lead to self-discovery:
Even if you know how to get the job done, masturbatorally speaking, your capacity to feel sexual pleasure is limitless and masturbation is a great way to find new functions for familiar parts. Often when we’re having sex with a partner we might be too self-conscious, shy, or otherwise distracted to pay close attention to what’s happening in our own body. Masturbation, when you’re doing it by yourself, allows you to focus on the subtlety of your own sexual response , and possibly discover things you hadn’t previously realized were part of your sexuality.

Masturbation is nature’s sleep aid:
While thinking about sex might keep you up at night having it, including masturbation, is a great way to deal with insomnia. In a 2000 study of U.S. women, 32% said that in the past three months they masturbated as a way to fall asleep. Whether it’s because of the hormones and endorphins released following orgasm, the benefits of clearing your head, or the mini cardio workout, masturbation that ends in orgasm is a great way to get to sleep without pills, television, or counting sheep.

Masturbation provides pain relief:
Whether you’re experiencing temporary or chronic pain from sore joints, headaches, menstrual cramps, or other causes, masturbation and orgasm can, in some cases, provide natural pain relief. While we don’t know exactly why, research has documented arousal and orgasm resulting in reduced pain thresholds. It’s worth pointing out that for some conditions (like migraine headaches ) orgasm can either reduce the pain or increase it.

Masturbation is a great stress reliever:
Several studies have documented the relaxation effects of masturbation induced orgasm. Aside from the physical benefits, masturbation, when you’re doing it right, is all about “you time” and taking time to focus on yourself is a great way to break up the stress of a busy life. Particularly when used with sexual fantasy, masturbation can be a great escape, a way to let off some steam, and while masturbation alone might not be enough to deal with all the stress in your life, it’s a healthy, free, and non-pharmaceutical tool right at your fingertips (or other body part or sex toy, as the case may be).

Masturbation may offer cancer prevention:
Two recent studies found a link between the number of times a man ejaculates and the likelihood of getting prostate cancer. The prostate gland produces and stores seminal fluid and the fluid can build up in the prostate if a man goes a long time without ejaculating. This build up isn’t always a problem, but in the studies men who ejaculate more were less likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Another researcher has proposed a theory that orgasm may offer some protective effect against breast cancer via oxytocin released at orgasm.

Sources:

Cornog, M. The Big Book of Masturbation San Francisco: Down There Press, 2003.
Komisaruk, B., Beyer-Flores, C., and Whipple, B. The Science of Orgasm Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006.

informative.good post.

wow... great....

Best article of the week...Keep it up Oodesh....Well done brother!!

nice post

Frequent masturbation and ejaculation stimulate acetylcholine/parasympathetic nervous functions. Excessive stimulation can result in over production of sex hormones and neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine, dopamine and serotonin.

Abundant and unusually large amount of these hormones and neurotransmitters can cause the brain and adrenal glands to perform excessive dopamine-norepinephrine-epinephrine conversion and turn the brain and body functions to be extremely sympathetic. In other words, there is a big change of body chemistry when one excessively masturbates.

Masturbation is a healthy sexual behavior. Like other behaviors, when over practiced or addicted it can lead to both psychological and physiological imbalances.

The side effects of such changes to the body include:
Fatigue. Feeling tired all the time
Lower back pain
Thinning hair / Hair Loss
Soft / Weak Erection
Premature Ejaculation
Eye floaters or fuzzy vision
Groin / Testicular Pain
Pain or cramp in the pelvic cavity or/and tail bone

Masturbation plays a big role in a normal sex life. Some of us discover it as children because it starts to feel so good between our legs. Others are shown by our friends. We continue to masturbate because it feels so good. It gets us ready for mature sexual relationships when we reach adulthood, and it helps us take care of those raging hormonal urges and surges when we are teenagers. Masturbation can enhance mature sexual relationships where two partners use it either as a prelude to other sexual activity, or as the main fare. And it keeps us going when relationships falter, such as when a partner is ill or away. It is a great equalizer in a relationship where one partner needs more sexual activity than the other.

How much is too much masturbation?

That depends but it's suggested men keep their ejaculation frequency down to 2-3 times a week. However, sexual activity can be experienced more often if men learn how to orgasm without ejaculation. Doing so can actually store bioenergy into your system and make your penis firmer, your erections last longer, and your ejaculate volume bigger.

Masturbation is a part of life and our sexual practices. In fact, most doctors recommend it, not only to improve sexual experiences but to also promote good general health. However, like most things in life, too much of a good thing can be bad. Excessive masturbation can lead to symptoms like stress, fatigue, and memory loss. In extreme cases, sufferers fall into the pitfalls of impotence and hair loss.

Under most circumstances, masturbation is neither good nor bad

One recently published study reported that 87% of women and 95% of men have practiced masturbation—but when done to extreme, it causes drastic changes in brain and body chemistry. Masturbating too much can over-stimulate acetylcholine/parasympathetic nervous functions and disrupt the liver’s release of enzymes that synthesize neurotransmitters acetylcholine, dopamine, and serotonin. Additionally, the liver’s ability to release enzymes that aid in hormone production is affected. As a result, the brain and adrenal glands produce too much dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, and other hormones and neural transmitters.

Symptoms (also called Sexual Exhaustion) is distressing liver and nervous system functions, include youthful impotence/erectile dysfunction (including a soft or weak erection) and seminal leakage. While more than 30% of men have experienced impotence at one time or another, impotence in youth is more rare and can often be attributed to the above factors.

Over-masturbation can also cause problems such as seminal leakage, which can cause sperm to ooze or leak out of the penis with no accompanying erection. Both semen leakage and youthful impotence are embarrassing, uncomfortable, and signs of Sexual Exhaustion.

Semen leakage is a sign that the parasympathetic nerve, which keeps the ejaculation valve shut and holds the erection, is weakening as a result of over-masturbation. With a weakened nerve, maintaining an erection is a problem.

Excellent article ! Good scientific evidence ,keep it up !

Just to correct the previous post: Masturbation DOES NOT cause hair loss.

thanks Oodesh and drgauravkatiyar
previously, when somebody asked me if the masturbation was a bad thing, I was really confused , i didn't know what I should say, advise them to continue or stop it?!. It has some negative effects but, evidently, until now, that's the safest sexual behaviour when we can't control * ourselves. It's not totally bad.
Now, with these infos - these evidences, we understand more clearly
Like everything, GOOD or BAD, that's ONLY YOU who decide it!
and Moderation is always necessary.

When I need to sleep I just masturbate.