long story short
Masturbation has a whole host of benefits, including mental, physical and sexual wellbeing. Both genders benefit from a bit of self-love.
long story
Most of us have been tugging the ‘ole one-eyed snake since around the time we hit puberty, but masturbation is still one of the more taboo sex subjects. It’s one thing to discuss your sex life with a doctor or a particularly accommodating friend, but most of us deem masturbation too private for open discourse. That’s a shame, because according to a couple of doctors from the University of Sydney, masturbation is about the most fun you can have while also improving your health.
For starters: Masturbation will not cause hairy palms, it won’t make your penis fall off and it certainly won’t make you infertile (it’s the opposite, if anything). Most reasonable people stopped believing these myths decades ago, but they still persist — mostly as a means of scaring children away from their own sexuality.
Masturbation across both genders is associated with a lowered risk of diabetes, though the strength of the correlation is debatable. For men, masturbation helps ward off a major threat — prostate cancer. It’s believed that engaging the prostate through masturbation gives it a chance to flush out potential carcinogens. For women, double-clicking the mouse helps prevent urinary and cervical infections by improving fluid circulation and bloodflow.
Most of all, masturbation helps keep you sane. Orgasms make us feel good because of the endorphins released into the bloodstream, and maximising endorphins can help people avoid depression. It’s also a great way to relieve stress, as masturbation increases cortisol levels, which also happens to help boost the immune system.
Couples could stand to be more open about masturbation, too. Since many women have difficulty orgasming through penetrative sex alone, feeling comfortable enough to lend themselves a hand could greatly increase their enjoyment. It’s also a good way to learn how your partner likes to be touched, a department in which most of us could stand to improve (in fairness, I don’t know anyone who’s met a woman who knew how to give a decent handy, either). As a bonus, if you’ve never watched your partner masturbate, it’s just the hottest damn thing. And you never know — she might like watching you enjoy yourself, as well.
Forget an apple a day — if you want to stay healthy, tug one out instead.