Solo-sex, self-love, or masturbation has numerous stereotypes surrounding it. It’s estimated that  92% of American men and 76% of American women masturbate regularly. Masturbation myths have been all over the place.

Interestingly masturbation has numerous benefits other than pleasure. These include improved mood, more focus, and better sleep. Masturbation leads to a release of feel-good hormones, such as dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and oxytocin. Moreover, it’s the ultimate form of safe sex and helps you familiarize yourself with what stimulation you need to reach climax and ultimately lead to better sex with your partner.

Dispelling Masturbation Myths

With these benefits in mind, let’s debunk some common myths surrounding masturbation. 

Masturbation will make you go blind & lead to hair loss – That’s simply false. There is no scientific evidence that masturbation leads to blindness or causes hair loss. If it were, we’d have a lot more blindness and bald people in the world!

Masturbation has a link with ED (erectile dysfunction). Masturbation does not affect the quality or frequency of erections. Research shows that masturbation is prevalent across all ages. Masturbation increases the frequency of orgasms and can, in turn, cause strengthening of the pelvic floor.

For some people, increasing the strength of these muscles can cause more intense and more pleasurable orgasms. However, in some cases watching pornography can lead to unrealistic expectations leading to performance anxiety.

Side note: Guilt about masturbation. Guilt about masturbation can be related to spiritual, cultural, or religious beliefs. For instance, considering masturbation as immoral or “dirty,” can cause anxiety and eventual sexual dysfunction. It is advised to seek assistance from a sex therapist to resolve such issues. 

You can masturbate too much – This is rarely true. For most of the population, masturbation is not a problem. However,  it can become problematic when masturbation becomes a priority over your regular day-to-day activities. For example, avoiding spending time with your friends, family, or partners to masturbate.

Masturbation harms your relationship – untrue! Solo sexual activity while in a relationship is healthy and can prompt even more mutual sexual activity. There’s nothing wrong with self-exploration. Masturbation is not a measure of how much love you have for your partner.  

Masturbation lowers testosterone – Masturbation does not appear to affect testosterone levels in the long run. In reality, when you orgasm or masturbate, your testosterone level rises, then drops to a normal level once the orgasm is over; it does not diminish the amount of testosterone in your body in any clinically significant way.