Health Benefits Of Masturbation

Overcoming the love/hate relationship we have with masturbation and indulging in one of the most natural sexual acts has been medically proven to improve one's overall wellbeing. Hairy palms be damned—the Victorian era has passed and so should the archaic notions they attached to masturbation. Recent studies have found that frequent masturbation for men drastically reduces their chances of developing prostate cancer, and the health benefits associated with pleasuring yourself, who can deny the satisfaction of the post-orgasm glow?

Along with legalizing masturbation for yourself, comes a variety of questions regarding masturbation frequency, technique or even downsides to engaging in masturbation. First of all, there is no universally accepted theory as to how often one should masturbate. Masturbation is a whenever wherever however practice. It has been reported that some men regularly masturbate as often as six times a day with no apparent harm. The only plausible downside of frequent masturbation is that men who masturbate excessively may risk desensitization as their penis will become accustomed to the stronger stimulus of the hand, or for women, over stimulating the clit with vibrators may also reduce sensitivity during intercourse. The simple solution? Abstain from masturbation for a period of time and voila! sensitivity is restored. Please note that excessive masturbation can only be determined individually, based on the number of skin abrasions, bruises, or the time spent masturbating and whether it keeps one from engaging in other necessary activities according to sexpert Brenda Love.

Men, lube up and start masturbating. Masturbation seems to be the best preventative care option for prostate cancer according to an Australian study lead by Graham Giles, of the Cancer Council Victoria in Melbourne. Reuters in London reports: "Frequent masturbation, particularly in the 20s, helps prevent prostate cancer later in life, according to new research. Australian scientists have shown that the more men masturbate between the ages of 20 and 50, the less likely they are to develop the disease that kills more than half a million men each year. They suspect that frequent ejaculation has a protective effect against the cancer because it prevents dangerous carcinogens from building up in the gland. In a survey of 1,079 prostate cancer patients and 1,259 healthy men, Giles and his team discovered that men who ejaculated more than five times a week in their 20s were a third less likely to develop an aggressive form of the disease."

Muscle tone is another subsidiary benefit of frequent masturbation. Brenda Love suggests that regular masturbation improves one's ability to achieve orgasm by keeping the pubococcygeus (PC) muscle in tone. The PC muscle covers the genital region from the mons pubis to the anus, and is the muscle for which a physician named Arnold Kegel, developed the "Kegel exercise" to help intensifying or control orgasms. A person exercises this muscle by simply stopping and restarting the flow of their urine or through regular masturbation. An improvement of muscle tone and in orgasms through masturbation should be noticeable within a few weeks.

An often overlooked benefit of masturbation is that it never becomes boring because there are so many masturbation aids, lubricants and masturbation sex toys on the market. If you're looking to spice things up, why not experiment with a vibrator, a dildo, or even an anal plug. But the true pleasure and benefit of masturbation is the pleasure that one derives from masturbation. The sky is really the limit… so take matters into your own hands literally.