It might not be surprising that many of the benefits (especially the ones most people are aware of) come after masturbating. That being said, there are plenty of positive changes you‘ll experience during self-pleasure!
Did you know that the sexual arousal you feel both before and after orgasm has some incredible effects on your body? From a burst of positive neurochemicals that provide everything from pleasure, pain relief, a feeling of happiness and wellbeing, to that infamous “post-nut clarity” you may have heard of.
While not exactly scientifically explicable due to the absence of specific research, the focus and concentration achieved after orgasm is a shared experience that many people talk about.
Scientists are gradually starting to understand that the mental patterns of arousal and stimulation detectable in the brain differ between partnered sex and self-pleasure. These differences mainly concern fantasy and the brain’s capability to imagine. During self-pleasure, the brain’s prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain associated with creative thinking, is much more stimulated and active.
When it comes to sex with a partner, however, it seems certain parts aren’t as engaged, particularly the parts responsible for your self-control. Meaning that solo masturbation needs you to be far more involved and imaginative! So why not flex those creative (brain) muscles a little more?
We’ve covered this one before in other blogs, but the positive neurochemicals such as dopamine, endorphins, and oxytocin, (all being “happiness hormones”), are released during and after self-pleasure. These hormones may also help out with bonding, relaxation, and reducing stress.
Oxytocin is also quite well known as the “love hormone” which can be a significant aid in de-stressing you and reducing anxiety. So if you’re in need of a quick pick-me-up, self-pleasure may provide that boost you need!
Can masturbation be a considered form of exercise? We have covered how many calories self-pleasure can burn but both masturbation and sex can lead to stronger muscles. Take your pelvic floor muscles, for example, which can aid in giving you more sexual control, leading to more pleasure.
It isn’t just your pelvic floor muscles that can benefit, however. When you’re nearing climax, other muscles in your legs and stomach tend to contract as well. It might not be as practical as your typical gym workout, but it’s definitely more fun and might cost significantly less!
So we’ve covered how your pelvic floor muscles can benefit, but did you know that self-pleasure could help you to stay harder and last longer in the long term? Both sex and masturbation work out your pelvic floor muscles, which can aid in preventing issues such as erectile dysfunction and incontinence. Combining this with some self-training (edging techniques can be perfect for this) can help you stay hard for longer periods of time.
If you want to see better results, masturbating three to five times a week can give you some discernible results. That being said, everyone is different, so it’s important to adapt to a routine you feel satisfied with and that works for you.
A study conducted in 2004 found that men who ejaculated more than 21 times a month reduced their risk of prostate cancer by around 33% compared with those who only ejaculated around 4 to 7 times in the same period. The follow-up study in 2016 saw researchers reviewing that same group of participants from 2004, and they discovered that those who ejaculated around 8 to 12 times per month lowered their risk of prostate cancer by 10%!
Your prostate isn’t the only organ to benefit from regular self-pleasure, as frequent orgasms may aid in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Massachusetts Aging Study released a report that found men who only climaxed through sex or masturbation once a month or less were 45% more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than men who had 2 or more orgasms a week.
When masturbation can help your overall health so significantly, it’s well worth considering making a little more time for it!
One of the myths we brushed over at the start of this blog was the continued belief that masturbating too often can reduce your sperm count. Of course, this isn’t quite the case! In fact, the testes produce hundreds of millions of sperm on a daily basis… regardless of how much you masturbate. Self-pleasure can also aid in increasing male fertility by removing older sperm cells, allowing the newly produced and more virile sperm to take their place!
Ejaculation also increases the levels of the hormone cortisol. Cortisol, while sometimes referred to as a “stress hormone”, can actually help in regulating and maintaining your immune system in small doses! That’s not all though, as a small study from 2004 indicated that men had an increased white blood cell count in as little as 45 minutes after masturbation. It might not help you in kicking that cold, but it might help you feel a bit better!
We know, we know… this claim seems a little too good to be true, otherwise, surely everyone would know about it, right? Well, hear us out at least…! In a Welsh study of 1000 men that was conducted over a whopping 20 years, men who had two or more orgasms per week tended to die at around half the rate of those who had fewer orgasms per month.
Even if it isn’t guaranteed to lead to a longer life, it’s certainly worth giving it a shot!