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, heart and prostate health, 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 STD from
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 skin irritation. Forcefully bending an
erect penis can 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 relationships if 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 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 guy who’s stopped masturbating — which can be a sign of anxiety or health problems — than a guy who’s doing it regularly.”
-R. Morgan Griffin
via WebMD
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