Tugging your todger isn’t as good for you as sex is
“It appears that not all orgasms are created equally,” says Tobias S. Köhler, MD, MPH,
Repeated studies show that actual intercourse has all sorts of benefits for men – for your blood pressure, heart, prostate, pain, and more. So you’d be inclined to think that masturbation would offer all those too. But it doesn’t, gutted.
Wanking isn’t without risk
Sure, it’s extremely low-risk. In fact it’s the safest form of sex possible. No STD’s or unwanted pregnancy. But it still has some risks. Frequent /ferocious masturbation can cause minor skin irritation. And here’s the winner…forcefully bending an erect penis can rupture the chambers that fill with blood, a rare but gruesome condition called penile fracture and most men would need surgery to repair it. Ouch!
There is no ‘normal’ about of masturbation
I know a lot of guys can get hung up on whether they go solo too often. 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 you work it into your everyday life.
If you masturbate so much so that you’re missing work or giving up on sex with your partner because of it, then a sex therapist or a trip to your GP might be in order.
Even then, there’s nothing specific about masturbation that’s a physical problem.
Wanking doesn’t mean you’ve gone off her
One of the most frequent/damaging myths about male masturbation is that it’s a sign something is wrong in your relationship.
The simple fact is that most men 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. For many, it’s a routine way of relieving stress, clearing your head before work, or going to sleep.
Masturbation can improve your sex life
Masturbation can help your sex life, since it’s how guys learn what they like during sex. Though some men can get so hooked on a certain amount of pressure during masturbation or the stimulation of porn that they can’t perform with a partner.
But according to the experts 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 anxiety or health problems — than a guy who’s doing it regularly.”
Guys can fake it too
The University of Kansas researchers surveyed college students, they found that 28 percent of guys had faked an orgasm with their partner. About one-third of those men said they’d been too drunk to orgasm, and almost half said their main reason for faking was because sleep was far more important. Since the male orgasm usually coincides with ejaculation you’d think it would be pretty difficult to trick your partner. The students claimed that moaning louder and speeding up their thrusts usually did the trick, “some men mentioned hiding or discarding their condom,” says study author Charlene Muehlenhard, Ph.D
Spunk is good for her!
I know this is an article about solo play, but I couldn’t resist this little gem. Semen is actually only 1 to 5 percent sperm, according to a Duke University study. Spunk is packed full of vitamins and minerals, so maybe point that out to your girl next time you play. In a typical 3.4ml load, you’ll let out around 10mg of sodium, 9 mg of fructose, a little less than 2/10ths of a gram of protein, and smaller amounts of zinc, potassium, calcium, and chlorine.
Too much wanking won’t lower your sperm count, but temperature can…
Frequent ejaculation can lower the volume, but if you generally have a normal sperm count this shouldn’t make much of an impact. Apparently, semen fluctuates with the seasons. “Sperm count tends to be lowest in summer months and highest in winter months,” says Fisch, because exposure to heat lessens sperm count. “In a Jacuzzi 104 degrees and higher, sperm count can decrease dramatically,” warns Fisch. In fact, this decrease can last for months after extreme overexposure to high temps. “I tell my patients, if you’re trying to have kids, don’t go into hot tubs.” Of course, don’t assume you’re totally safe from getting pregnant after you take a dip, either. “It’s not birth control,” he laughs.
Masturbation gets you high
Pretty much a no brainer, but worth mentioning the science behind the fact. Brain scans on men experiencing orgasms revealed that the most excited brain region during climax is the ventral tegmental area, which is full of receptors for neurotransmitters associated with reward. As it turns out, that’s the same brain region that lights up when heroin users shoot up, Danish researchers found.
It really can cure a headache
An orgasm floods your brain with endorphins which we know are powerful pain blockers, so researchers in Germany have been investigating whether doing the deed while you’re having a migraine helps relieve the nauseating pain. In a study published last year, the scientists reported that one-third of patients had powered through sex despite the unpleasant headache, and of those, 60 percent said they felt better post-shag. The researchers even believe that endurance athletes, have a better chance of curing their migraines with orgasms, since they’ve honed their bodies to release more endorphins. Remember this next time you have a headache soldiers, get wanking, Nurse Fanny’s orders!
