I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Masturbation — touching one’s own sex organs for pleasure — is not bad for you. Got that? I’m not just saying that you shouldn’t feel guilty about it because it is normal. I’m saying that it offers a number of health benefits. You’ve probably heard all sorts of myths about masturbation. For instance, masturbating will cause you to go blind, go insane, or grow hair on your palms. Maybe you’ve heard other falsehoods such as the only people who masturbate are those who are desperate for sex or can’t “get any,” sex with a partner.
Not a single one of those notions is true. Do you want to know why? Simple math answers this question. Most people masturbate. And if the myths were true, it would mean that most people are insane, blind, hairy-palmed, and desperate!
I’ll say it again. Most people masturbate. It doesn’t matter who people are, what they do, or what they say, chances are they masturbate. In fact, many people masturbate throughout their lives regardless of whether they have a sexual partner or not. People may masturbate alone or with a partner. Watching a partner masturbate can be a good way to see how she or he likes to be touched.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of guilt and shame surrounding masturbation. Self-pleasuring has had a bad reputation for centuries. Thankfully, medical authorities have given up on the idea that masturbation causes illness or insanity. In fact, most experts agree that children should be taught that there is nothing wrong with touching their genitals as long as it is done in private.
I masturbate every day — is that too much?
There isn’t any set amount of time per day, week, or month that would constitute as masturbating too much. Some people masturbate a few times every day while others do it twice a month. Some people don’t masturbate at all. Every person is different. Masturbating can become a problem only if it starts to interfere with the rest of a person’s life. For example, if a person starts skipping out of school so she or he can stay home and masturbate, then masturbating may be disrupting other parts of her or his life. Otherwise, relax — there is no need to worry about masturbating “too much.”
Why do people masturbate?
The number one reason why people masturbate is because it feels good. Period.
So, what health benefits does masturbation offer?
Masturbation can:
- help reduce stress
- release sexual tension
- alleviate menstrual cramps
- work wonders when a person is having trouble falling asleep
- stimulate the immune system to help build up resistance to infections like the common cold
- release mood-elevating hormones that help ward off depression
- reduce embarrassing spontaneous erections for teen guys
- reduce the number of unwanted wet dreams
And — this is a great thing — masturbation, unlike most other forms of sexplay, has no risk of pregnancy or sexually transmitted infection.
Masturbation also helps people be in control of their own sexual needs. By exploring our own bodies visually and by touch, we can learn more about ourselves and what feels good to us sexually. If we don’t know what makes us feel good, how can we communicate to a partner what makes us feel good? In fact, it is likely that most people learn to have their first orgasms through masturbating.
So remember, the truth is that masturbating is an important way in which people can feel better and take care of their sexual health.