By: Sarah Brown
Masturbation is a miracle treatment. It’s free and has no negative side effects. There are a number of myths surrounding masturbation (including that it causes blindness and hairy palms), but they have been disproven and have no basis in medical or scientific fact.
A lot of people experience shame and guilt when it comes to masturbation, which makes them hesitant to openly practice or talk about it, but overcoming these societal stigmas can positively support your physical, mental and interpersonal health. If you need more encouragement to add masturbation to your self-care toolkit, here are 3 simple reasons why you should masturbate for your health.
Safely Explore Sexual Desires
You are in control when masturbating. Self-pleasure provides a no-pressure scenario in which you can explore your fantasies, experiment with new kinds of stimulation, and learn exactly what it is you enjoy, and equally as important, what you don’t. When you know this about yourself, you can effectively communicate your turn-ons (and offs) to a sexual partner for better sex.
When you know this about yourself, you can effectively communicate your turn-ons (and offs) to a sexual partner for better sex.
Everybody’s anatomy is different, so there is no one-size-fits-all approach to fulfilling sex. Masturbating is the best way to get to know your unique anatomy, and how to engage with it to have greater pleasurable experiences. The same is true for masturbating with sex toys. The more experience you have with your tool(s) of choice, the more confidently you can employ them during partnered sex.
Boost Your Brainpower
Researchers at Rutgers University began recording MRIs of women having orgasms in the mid-2000s. Here’s what they saw: a symphony of blood, oxygen, and neurotransmitters light up nearly every region of the brain as the subject approached and achieved climax during self-stimulation. The researchers also found that the region of the brain that responds to painful stimuli is the same region that responds to pleasure.
These findings have promising implications for how doctors may be able to treat patients suffering from chronic pain in the future. Masturbation is a natural painkiller because it releases a host of happy hormones, including dopamine and endorphins, which help to regulate experiences of pain and stress. Bad day at the office? Instead of binge-watching an entire season of your favorite show, try masturbating.
Bad day at the office? Instead of binge-watching an entire season of your favorite show, try masturbating.
Improve Vaginal Health
Changes in vaginal health, and therefore sexual desire, can be attributed to a number of common life circumstances, including: aging, stress, and disease. Vaginal dryness or weak pelvic muscles can cause pain during sex, which can create a self-perpetuating cycle of disinterest and lack of sexual fulfillment for you and your partner.
The most accessible treatment for many of these common ailments is, you guessed it — masturbation. People with vaginas who masturbate regularly report increased vaginal lubrication and have an easier time becoming aroused. Remember those happy hormones? The more you trigger them, the more you’ll want to engage in the activities that released them — masturbation! — and hopefully, that’s all the more “happy hormones” you’ll receive. The vaginal and uterine muscle contractions that occur during orgasm can help tone weak pelvic floor muscles, which not only makes penetrative sex more pleasurable, but can also help stem incontinence.
The most accessible treatment for many of these common ailments is, you guessed it — masturbation.
So, make a date and masturbate — the best self-care tip of all.
a new kind of meditation
Read more about how one woman reclaimed pleasure, connection, and a sense of home in her body through masturbation
Sarah Brown is the Director of Sales and Marketing at Lora DiCarlo and a sex educator with over 7 years of experience in womxn's health and sexual wellness.
