Effects of Masturbation on Your Health: Side Effects and Benefits

Are you paranoid about indulging in your “me-time” too much? Are you afraid of some adverse effect on your body? 

Whatever your fears may be, we’re here to help you understand that there is no need to be afraid of anything. Masturbation just like any other sexual urge is a completely normal phenomenon and it’s very natural for a  person to engage in it. There are however some negative side effects of excessive masturbation which you should be aware of which we will discuss further. 

Most of the masturbation-related fears and anxieties often stem from the widespread myths about the side effects of daily masturbation. These rumors and myths are often propagated by pornography and social media. These myths have no scientific background to them and they often are hearsay.

Let us help you dispel some of the myths and misconceptions about masturbation side effects which might be the constant source of your anxieties

Let us make one thing abundantly clear, There are no major physical masturbation side effects of daily masturbation that can threaten your life. You won’t go blind, you won’t go infertile, you won’t grow hairy palms. These are simple rumors arising out of a severe lack of sexual education. However, there are some negative side effects that you might face if you are compulsively addicted to masturbating. These excessive masturbation side effects are not fatal or life-threatening, but sometimes they do call for some caution from your side. 

Some of these side effects of daily  are:

If men masturbate quite frequently and within a short period, they might experience slight swelling in their penis. This condition is called Edema and it is often non-threatening and painless. Should this condition ever happen to you, remember that it is completely harmless and swelling like that automatically goes away in a few days. Nothing is alarming about having this condition.

Another masturbation side effect is the subsequent guilt you might face. A pang of guilt like this is often caused by a series of factors including religious sentiments, deep-seated insecurities, etc. Some religions forbid women to masturbate and consider it a sin. Factors like these often lead to tremendous guilt after masturbating. 

While it is absolutely okay to not indulge because of your personal beliefs, should your guilt overwhelm you all the time, you can always look into a therapist or a counselor to help you through these issues. 

One of the major excessive masturbation side effects is decreased sexual sensitivity. There are times when people clutch their penis too hard while masturbating and it might cause some small arteries to break, inadvertently leading to a decreased sexual sensitivity over a course of time. Some restraint is advised should this ever happen to anyone; as the arteries need to heal. Again, while you should practice caution this is not a cause for severe alarm. 

However, in an occurrence where there might be absolutely no sensitivity in the penis whatsoever or the color of the penis might seem different than usual, it is advised to stop masturbating altogether and consult a specialist. Only a specialist is equipped to handle situations like this, and you shouldn’t rely on the internet for treatment. Self-diagnoses might just worsen the situation. So always, go to a specialist in a situation like this.

While there is no specific number as to how many times should you masturbate in a day or a week; masturbation can however get very addictive. There can be many causes of masturbation addiction including; lack of an active sexual life, too much stress in a day, no social life, etc.

Unlike other over masturbation side effects, masturbation addiction often impedes your day-to-day life. While this is quite rare, but there are cases where an individual masturbates to an extent that it starts interfering with their day-to-day life. The symptoms of masturbation addiction are:

Should anyone ever see these symptoms crop up, they should immediately contact a sexual healthcare specialist. Masturbation addiction can have very dire and long-term consequences and should be treated with utmost priority if discovered.

As reiterated above several times, Masturbation is a very natural urge and a person should never fight it. There are absolutely no adverse side-effects of masturbation except in some severe cases of excessive masturbation. And despite the rumors and the myths surrounding it, masturbation has quite a lot of benefits. Some of these benefits are:

Masturbation is very useful when it comes to dealing with severe stress and tension. Masturbation leads to the secretion of a “feel-good” hormone called oxytocin. Oxytocin helps in calming down a person in situations involving high stress.

Masturbation-induced oxytocin counters another hormone called Cortisol, which is the stress hormone. Oxytocin secretion leaves you in a relaxed, trance-like state which inadvertently helps you sleep better. 

Masturbating can be a very safe option for both you and your partner if you’re avoiding unwanted pregnancies. Masturbating is certainly a better option to attain sexual satisfaction without engaging in vaginal penetration. 

Masturbation can also help you avoid sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Since there is no direct contact in masturbation, it poses no risk whatsoever for contracting STDs.

Probably the most important benefit of regularly masturbating is that it lowers the risk of prostate cancer. A 2003 Australian Study conducted by BJU International, found that men who masturbated more than 5 times a week developed were a third less likely to develop prostate cancer. The cancer-causing toxins are often ejaculated during masturbation, making masturbation a rather healthy practice to have.

Masturbation is one of the major factors when it comes to relieving menstrual cramps. Since Masturbation releases happy and feel-good hormones such as Endorphines, Dopamine, and Oxytocin in your body, it is a major factor in contributing to relief to menstrual cramps. These hormones are often associated with calming down and happy effects. Thus, making masturbation intrinsic to being relaxed and happy.

Masturbation can help you increase your immunity and lead a better and healthier lifestyle. Masturbation releases several types of hormones in your body including a hormone called Cortisol. While cortisol is considered to be a stress hormone and induces massive amounts of stress; the reality is quite different. Small doses of cortisol hormones secreted during masturbation can help regulate your immune system and keeps you healthy.

Despite the popular notion that masturbation decreases your sexual performance, the reality is quite contrasting to the notion. Masturbation often flushes out unnecessary semen that might remain in the sperm transporting tubules. This paves way for a better ejaculation during sex that inadvertently leads to better orgasms. 

There are several myths surrounding masturbation; often these imaginary masturbation side effects with no real-world basis. There are no conclusive origins of these myths and rumors and often they lack a complete scientific rationale. A lack of proper sex education in schools is one of the most severe reasons that these myths persist to this day and people are still falling into its trap. Some of these myths are:

There is absolutely no scientific backing to these rumors. Masturbation has no relation to any organs or nerves that causes your palms to become hairy, or for you to go blind. And as far as other rumors and myths are concerned, masturbation often gets rid of residual and useless semen from the body, which increases the chances of developing healthier sperm, and thus masturbation does not cause impotence or infertility. And the process of masturbation often strengthens the muscles of the penis then causes any deformity like curvature, or shrinkage, or causes erectile dysfunction.

To sum up, there are several myths and taboos surrounding masturbation. Often or not, these don’t have any scientific basis, and the only thing they cause is mass paranoia and a spread of fake information amongst the public. The only way to combat this menace is to have proper sexual education since school so that everyone is well informed and there is no spread of hearsay and misconceptions.

Masturbation is a fundamental sexual urge in every human being and everyone should embrace it without hesitation. It promotes a healthy sexual lifestyle, reduces stress, lowers the risk of prostate cancer, enhances sleep, and releases several ‘feel-good’ hormones including endorphins, dopamine, and oxytocin which help in relieving stress, anxiety, and depression.

There are several harmful effects of excessive masturbation. These can be edema, masturbation addiction, and guilt. Edema is slight swelling in your penis that is caused by masturbating a lot within short periods. Masturbation addiction is more psychological than a physical side effect, where a person develops a dependency on masturbation for the fulfillment of their social and psychological needs. Along with this, guilt is a major side effect of masturbation. Several religions see masturbation as a sin and as a result, it can cause a lot of undue guilt to a person engaging in the process.

Masturbation like any other sexual urge is completely normal for a person to experience. There are however both advantages and disadvantages to masturbation. They are:

Advantages: Masturbation can reduce tension, lower the risk of prostate cancer, enhance your sleep, boost concentration, relieve menstrual cramps, improve your sex life.

Disadvantages: Excessive Masturbation is always not advised and it has harmful side effects including swelling of the penis, social or religious guilt, decreased sexual sensitivity, masturbation addiction, etc.

Masturbation does not cause blindness. There is no scientific relationship between the optical nerves and the reproductive system. They are independent organs and do not affect each other. These are often rumors and hearsay propagated by pornography and social media. Never believe in rumors until you have checked the facts for yourself.