“It appears that not all orgasms are created equal,” says Tobias S. Köhler, MD, MPH, associate professor at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield.
Study after study shows that intercourse has all kinds of benefits for men: for blood pressure, heart and prostate health, pain and more. You’d think masturbation would do that too. But that’s not true.
Why should it make a difference whether you ejaculate during sex or alone? No one knows for sure. But your body seems to react differently. Even the composition of semen is different when you masturbate instead of have sex.
But does it really matter? Honestly, have you only masturbated all these years because you wanted to improve your prostate health? I do not think so. But one study, Harvard’s Health Professional Followup, found that masturbation can help lower the risk of prostate cancer.
Sure, it’s low risk. It is the safest form of sex possible. No one has ever contracted an STD from themselves or gotten themselves pregnant. But like other low-risk activities (chewing, walking), it still carries some risks.
Frequent or rough masturbation can cause minor skin irritation. Forcefully flexing an erect penis can rupture the chambers that fill with blood, a rare but gruesome condition called penile fracture.
Köhler has seen boys with it after vigorous masturbation. “After that, the penis looks like an eggplant,” he says. “It’s purple and swollen.” Most men need surgery to repair it.
Guys may wonder if they are masturbating too much. But it’s not really about how many times a week (or day) you masturbate, says Logan Levkoff, PhD, sexologist and sex therapist. It just depends on how it fits into your life.
If you masturbate many times a day and live a healthy, fulfilling life, it’s good for you. But if you masturbate many times a day and therefore miss work or give up sex with your partner, consider seeing a sex therapist.
Even then, there’s nothing specific about masturbation, that’s the problem. Compulsive masturbation is just like any other behavior that disrupts your life, whether it’s compulsive playing poker or checking social media every other minute.
Levkoff says the most damaging myth about male masturbation is that it’s a sign that something is wrong in your relationship.
It’s a fact that most guys masturbate. They masturbate when they are 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 just about sex, says Levkoff. For many, it is a routine way to relieve stress, clear your head before work or sleep.
Masturbation can benefit your sex life because it helps guys learn what they like during sex. “I think women would be more sexually satisfied in their relationships if they masturbated as much as men,” says Levkoff.
Are there exceptions? Some guys become so addicted to a certain amount of pressure during masturbation or porn stimulation that they can’t perform with a partner, says Ian Kerner, PhD, a sex therapist and author of She 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 man who has stopped masturbating — which can be a sign of anxiety or health problems — than about a man who does it regularly.”