Benefits of Masturbation
Since May is officially National Masturbation Month, I thought it would be important to list some of the benefits of masturbation in this much-loved, often not-well-spoken-about activity. About 92% of women are said to take time to masturbate and about 98% of men (100%?) say they masturbate regularly, which makes sense when you think about the fact that it’s a natural activity that’s often stumbled across in childhood or the teen years.
Although masturbation can get a bad rap, especially with all the discussion on internet porn and the question of sexual addiction, masturbation can be very beneficial to a person’s health, well-being, and relationship. Of course, if used in an unbalanced way or out of harmony with your own body or your life, it could interfere with a relationship and significantly put a damper on enjoying sex with a partner.
Masturbation encourages blood flow
Masturbation helps to bring blood flow to the erectile tissue for both men and women. Since the body works on a “use it or lose it” principle, getting regular and maximal blood flow helps keep these arteries and tissues healthy and functioning well. If a person does not have a regular sexual partner, masturbation can the most important way to maintain good sexual functioning. This blood flow is especially important for people over 50 and can be one of the best ways for women to prevent the severity of vaginal symptoms after menopause.
Masturbation reduces stress and helps us feel calm
Since it helps release oxytocin and endorphins, masturbation can help people feel calm and relaxed. This relaxation is especially important for women during orgasm, since this is one of the few times that a woman can actually get her brain to relax and stop thinking about everything. Masturbation also helps in much the same way to lower our blood pressure, decrease overall stress and anxiety, and is even used by millions to help them sleep better.
Prostate health
Although most men masturbate already, many find it odd that I recommend that they continue to masturbate if they are not getting regular sexual activity. Especially now in the age of porn, masturbation can be used to avoid relationships or can prime the brain to respond more to the images on a screen than a real person. Used in a healthy fashion, however, regular masturbation with ejaculation can help maintain the health of the prostate and lowers the incidence of prostate cancer in men.
Increase pleasure with your partner
Especially for women, masturbation is an excellent way to learn about how your body feels pleasure and how to give yourself that pleasure. Once a person has a good idea of the ways that they respond to physical stimulation, they can more easily translate that into having the same pleasure with a partner. This is most important for the majority of women who receive pleasure mostly from stimulation of the clitoris externally rather than from vaginal penetration. There are about 70% of women who need to have this external stimulation during intercourse if they want to reach orgasm, and learning how to incorporate that into their sex life with a partner can make all the difference.
Dr. Castellanos is a psychiatrist specializing in sex therapy for over 25 years, including treatment with bio-identical hormones, and functional medicine consultations. You can follow her on Instagram at thesexmd, Facebook at The Sex MD, and X at @DrCastellanos.
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Dear Dr. Madaline:
I am 85 years old.
I lost my wife 7 years ago.
We had tremendous and frequent sex for 53 years.
When she became very ill, sex became a low priority.
I miss having good mutual sex.
At my age I have difficulty finding women to hooking up with.
I don’t trust those “find a partner” sites.
So for 7 years I resort to masterbating.
I do it once or twice a week.
Some times more frequent.
I visit porn sites when I do.
I have 4 questions:
Is what I do typical?
Do women my age frequently rely on masterbation?
Should I be more aggressive to find sex partner of my age- (not for marriage)?
Can you recommend a resource to learn how connect with them?
Tnx
Ed
Ed – I cannot give you advice here, but I can tell you how the body works. Since continued activity promotes the continuation of more activity, masturbation helps maintain sexual functioning if you do not have a partner. There is more variation in amount of sexual activity in older adults because of illness, physical condition, attitudes towards sex, availability of a partner. There are many women your age that do masturbate for many of the same reasons that you do. Masturbation is a natural activity and you should not be put off by doing it, it is quite typical for most men. Best Wishes.
Dear Dr. Madaline:
Is it ok for me to masturbate once every day ?
thanks
Yes, perfectly normal.
Dr. Castellanos,
Are there any long term effects from edging, or prolonging masturbation for hours before cumming? I’m concerned that my foreskin may stretch or the skin could be affected by constantly being covered with Vaseline . Thank you for your time.
The effects of edging could be difficulty reaching orgasm with a partner, or being unable to sustain an erection for intercourse due to being acclimated to a different sensation. This doesn’t happen to everyone, but is definitely bothersome when it does occur. The Vaseline won’t hurt you assuming you are washing it off afterwards, although some people find that it can dry out the skin if used constantly. Stretching the foreskin isn’t usually a problem either unless you are purposely stretching it (you didn’t say if you are circumcised or not – foreskin suggests that you are not). In fact, some circumcised guys try to stretch their skin on purpose to try to get some of that feel back.
am now 34 am married I have two kids but I have been masterbation before marriage and when in marriage, though I stay far from my family is these normal or should I stop it advice me what to do please. but everything is working perfect even when am with my partner my performance is ok.
You need to decide what the best thing is for you, but I think that masturbation is natural. I wonder why you are questioning whether it is okay or not? It seems that it is not causing problems or throwing your sexual relationship off balance (from what you have said here). If a person has been brought up to think of masturbation as negative, then this may bring guilty feelings about it.
Hi Dr. Castellanos,
I saw the above information and I did not realize that May was National Masturbation Month. I wonder how many of your readers realized this ? There was certainly nothing in the local print or tv media about it that I can remember seeing. Anyway, thanks for the information and could it be that many people actually celebrate it all year long ?
Thanks,
News Hound
I am a 33 yr female. I have maturbated at least 3-4 times a week for 3 years maybe more. For some reason right before bed, it definitely help me to fall right asleep. I’ve pretty much always been very sexual, but I was starting to think that this was a problem. I’m glad to hear that professionally speaking its a good thing. I really enjoy it so much that when having sex I’ll often do it to get me wetter and get me more excited!
But there have been times where I felt the urge to have an orgasm so badly that I’d have to go to the restroom at work to relieve myself, even after having sex the night before with my partner, who was VERY satisfying. Is that normal?
Many times people (women and men) get the desire to masturbate even if they are having regular sexual activity. This is perfectly normal and should not be too much concern.
* is there any disadvantage of masturbation ???
* is aging is cause of masturbation??
* what is the limit of masturbation per day for the men from age 25 to 40 ??
Masturbation is a natural and normal thing that does not hurt you unless you are doing it excessively or hurting yourself physically. It would be considered excessive if you have irritation of your skin or bruising. If a man masturbates with a lot of force, he could cause some scar tissue to form inside his erectile tissue which could lead to Peyronie’s disease. There is a lot of individual variation with frequency – some people like to masturbate a couple of times a day, some only a couple of times a week. If you are using masturbation as a way to relieve stress or deal with anger, you might consider that you are using it too much. Also, if you are avoiding things you need to do in order to masturbate, you may also be doing it too much.
Thank you very Much Dr, Castellanos I learnt so much of this web.
Keep going on .
Musa
Hi Dr. Castellanos,
Since National Masturbation Month (May) is approaching, I would like to relay some of my experiences to guys that are single, widowed, or have wives that have lost their libido, if I may. My wife lost her libido almost 20 years ago. For about the first 17 of those years I did not know the importance of regular ejaculation, as I masturbated only on rare occasions. However, about three years ago I happened to see some information on the web that stated how important it was for men to ejaculate regularly. I discussed with my wife if she minded that I look at erotica or porn in order to masturbate. I have cable and I decided to subscribe to one of the adult porn channels. Since then I have masturbated once a week (Fridays) and there are a few benefits I would like to mention about some results. As Dr. Castellanos mentioned in her above post, I have better erections, feel calmer, my blood pressure goes down soon after I finish. Also, I have yearly physicals, get a printout of my blood tests, and for each of the last 3 years, my psa readings have gone down. Guys, you really need to flush out your prostate regularly, as Dr. Castellanos suggests, to protect against prostate cancer. If porn is a possible option or the only option for you, gently discuss this with your wife. Hopefully she will agree to let you view it. But, use it RESPONSIBLY.
DON’T get addicted to it, no more than you would alcohol or anything else. And ladies, enjoy yourselves during this month of May coming up. Thanks, Dr. Castellanos for letting me elaborate a little bit. Oh, one more thing, could we conclude that porn stars therefore could be lifesavers ? Have a good month everyone.
Guys, just wanted to say that September is Prostate Cancer Awareness month. Please go to your doctor, get and annual physical which includes a digital prostate exam and be sure to get a blood test. Also, get a printout of your blood test so you can keep up with your psa numbers each year you get a physical. And of course be sure to empty your prostate regularly. I am not a doctor but just wanted to give my 2 cents worth on a very important health topic. Thanks.
IS mastrubating 7 times a day harmful
Only if it keeps you from doing your other normal activities – eating, showering, working, studying, relating to other people, etc.
Is it normal for my dick to curve a little to the left
A small amount of curvature either to the side or up is not uncommon (up to about 15 degrees). Beyond that, you may have Peyronie’s. You can check out this post about it.
i am a women but my partner is also a women. For the past year our sex life has gone down hill and not because of her more so me. I have hypothyroidism so my sex drive isnt there like it use to. Im only in my late 20s and i have no desire to have sex. But i have to masterbate before bed every night in order to sleep. Is that normal?
Many women masturbate at night before they go to sleep (so do men). It’s a common way to relax the body and the mind. That is pretty normal. The desire issue you are speaking about is a different issue. Typically, sexual desire is strongest in the beginning of a relationship and then decreases somewhat with time. For women in relationships with other women, they often find that neither of them is very assertive about sex, so it affects their desire. But it could be other things as well. I take care of thyroid imbalances in my functional medicine practice quite often.
Hi Dr.
I recently read on line that it is also important for a guy to massage his prostate, either with a finger or vibrator as masturbation itself is not the only thing that can get rid of everything that needs to get flushed out of the prostate. I think a small vibrator is better suited for this as for me trying to masturbate with one hand and use the vibrator with another hand is kind of awkward !! Anyway, could you give your opinion on this, or maybe you have discussed this before in another post. I haven’t been on your site in a while but I always look forward to your comments. Thanks as always !!