Does masturbation affect your immune system? Health benefits of masturbation

Growing up, chances are that you had at least one person tell you not to masturbate. If you grew up in a conservative area, you may have even heard that it will make you go blind. Does masturbation make you go blind? No, this is obviously not true. 

As it turns out, quite the opposite seems to be true. Not only is masturbation good for you, but it actually has a lot of health perks that you might not be aware of. Study after study shows that masturbation is good for you, regardless of your sex. Take a look at these benefits masturbation offers.

1. It’s a healthy stress reliever.

Is life throwing you curveballs left and right? Are you stressed? Masturbation helps you release stress and sexual tension at the same time. There’s a reason why so many people masturbate when they’re stressed. It’s a way to release feel-good chemicals like dopamine in your body.

If you have been experiencing depression, it’s worth noting that masturbation releases endorphins. These are chemicals like dopamine and oxytocin that help you feel happy, loved, and yes, forget anxiety and be more relaxed.

2. Masturbation can also increase pain tolerance. 

Did you know that masturbation can relieve pain? It’s true, and it’s been proven in a fairly well-known study. Vaginal stimulation, for example, could dull pain by as much as 40 percent in female patients. 

Among the health benefits of masturbation and considering that it’s a natural painkiller, one can assume that masturbation helps with headaches too. This is doubly true for stress headaches.

3. It can help decrease blood pressure.

If you get high blood pressure from stress, you’ll be thrilled to hear that masturbation and blood pressure regulation can go hand in hand. While masturbation can temporarily increase your blood pressure, it can also lower it slightly by reducing stress over a longer period of time.

4. It can help you sleep well and also feel more energized. 

Sleep tends to be the last thing people think about when they are talking about masturbation, but there is a link here. As you might be able to figure out, playing solo rubdown time can aid you in getting a better quality sleep and also induce slumber for people who suffer from insomnia and sleep apnea.

5. You might get an immunity boost, too.

Does masturbation affect immunity in a good way? Absolutely! As it turns out, all those hormone regulation perks that come with masturbation might have a little side effect that’ll make your doctor smile. Masturbation helps immunity. 

The boosted mood, the better sleep, and the fact that your cortisol levels are more likely to drop all contribute to a better immune system. That’s why people who “practice self-love” tend to be less likely to get sick.

6. Technically, it can be a form of exercise.

As it turns out, masturbation helps when you’re trying to lose weight. Kind of. Because there tends to be a lot of movement associated with masturbation, this does burn calories—albeit, not as many as heading to your yoga studio. 

Remember back in the early 2000s when there were memes asking how many calories does masturbation burn? Well, there is a caloric output that comes with masturbation, and the vigor  of your movements  can change how many calories you burn. 

So, does masturbation really burn calories? One study in PLOS One came up with some solid numbers on how many calories people burn on average with masturbation. According to the study, men burn 4.2 calories per minute on average, while women burn 3.1 calories on average.

7. Like other exercises, it can also strengthen body parts of yours.

Your pelvic floor is what controls your ability to pee, give birth, and also have stronger orgasms. Unsurprisingly, this is one of the main groups of muscles that can get strengthened through regular masturbation. 

Doing it on a regular basis can strengthen those body parts, which means you are less likely to face incontinence issues later on. Having a stronger pelvic floor can also help you have better sex.

8. It can help you boost your confidence and get you in the mood. 

Remember when we talked about having those “feel good” hormones released during masturbation? It’s got another side effect. When you feel good after a stress wank, you also tend to feel better about yourself.

This is because you are learning to explore your body in a healthy way. Masturbation is great for figuring out what you like in bed and also gives you the feeling of “having it goin’ on.” Needless to say, you might feel more confident about your sexuality after a solo session. 

There are also studies that show that masturbation and sex can work for regaining your libido. If you’ve been feeling “cold down there” or just haven’t been feeling it, your body might be crying for a solo session to realign your needs.

Need help getting in the mood?

Your sexual desire is a lot like a muscle. If you don’t use it, you might lose it—at least temporarily. Having a solo love session can help, but you might still need a little boost of botanicals to help you relax, focus, and enjoy riding the wave. bido is there when you need to rise to the occasion. Give us a shot!