5 Effects Of Male Masturbation On You

If there’s one thing that almost every guy is an
expert at, it’s masturbation. After years of
extensive, hands-on experience, you think you
know everything there is to know.
But according to the experts, maybe you don’t.
Here are some that may surprise you.
1. Masturbation doesn’t have the health benefits
that sex does.
“It appears that not all orgasms are created
equally,” says Tobias S. Köhler, MD, MPH, an
associate professor at Southern Illinois University
School of Medicine in Springfield.
Study after study shows that intercourse has all
sorts of benefits for men — for your blood
pressure, heartand prostatehealth, pain, and more.
You’d think that masturbation would, too. But it
doesn’t.
Why would it make a difference whether you
ejaculate during sex or on your own? No one’s
sure. But your body seems to respond differently.
Even the makeup of semen is different if you
masturbate instead of having sex.
Still, does it really matter? Have you honestly been
masturbating all these years only because you
wanted to boost your prostate health? Didn’t think
so.
2. Masturbation is not risk-free.
Sure, it’s low-risk. It’s the safest form of sex
possible. No one ever caught an STDfrom himself
or made himself pregnant. But like other low-risk
activities (chewing, walking), it still has some
risks.
Frequent or rough masturbation can cause minor
skinirritation. Forcefully bending an erect peniscan
rupture the chambers that fill with blood, a rare
but gruesome condition called penile fracture.
Köhler has seen guys with it after vigorous
masturbation. “Afterward, the penis looks like an
eggplant,” he says. “It’s purple and swollen.” Most
men need surgery to repair it.
3. There’s no “normal” amount of masturbation.
Guys can get hung up on whether they masturbate
too much. But it’s not how many times you
masturbate in a week (or day) that really matters,
says Logan Levkoff, PhD, a sexologist and sex
educator. It’s how it fits into your life.
If you masturbate many times a day and have a
healthy, satisfying life, good for you. But if you
masturbate many times a day and you’re missing
work or giving up on sex with your partner
because of it, consider seeing a sex therapist.
Even then, there’s nothing specific about
masturbation that’s the problem. Compulsive
masturbation is like any behavior that disrupts
your life — whether it’s compulsively playing poker
or buying Beanie Babies on eBay
4. Masturbating doesn’t reflect on your
relationship.
Levkoff says the most damaging myth about male
masturbation is that it’s a sign something is
wrong in your relationship.
The fact is that most guys masturbate. They
masturbate if they’re single, in a bad relationship,
or in a great relationship. It’s just something they
do that has nothing to do with their partners.
Masturbation isn’t only about sex, Levkoff says.
For many, it’s a routine way of relieving stress,
clearing your head before work, or going to sleep.
5. Masturbation is almost certainly good for your
sex life.
Masturbation can help your sex life, since it’s how
guys learn what they like during sex. “I think
women would be more satisfied sexually in their
relationshipsif they masturbated as much as men
do,” Levkoff says.
Are there exceptions? Some guys do get so
hooked on a certain amount of pressure during
masturbation or the stimulation of porn that they
can’t perform with a partner, says Ian Kerner, PhD,
a sex therapist and author ofShe Comes First.
Still, Kerner says those guys are the exception.
“For the vast majority of men, masturbation is a
healthy thing,” he says. “I’m usually more
concerned about a guy who’s stopped
masturbating — which can be a sign of anxietyor
health problems — than a guy who’s doing it
regularly.”