10 Benefits of Masturbation for Your Body and Mind

Almost everyone does it. Almost nobody talks about it. And a surprising number of people still quietly wonder whether it's doing them harm.

It isn't. The research points the other way.

Here's the short answer. The benefits of masturbation are real and well documented: less stress, better sleep, easier pain relief, a better mood, stronger pelvic floor muscles, more body confidence, and better sex with a partner.

For men, frequent ejaculation is linked to a lower risk of prostate cancer. There is no evidence that masturbation causes physical harm at any normal frequency. It only becomes a problem when you can't control it or it starts getting in the way of your life.

Below we cover what masturbation actually is, the ten benefits worth knowing about, how the picture differs for men and women, and where the line sits between healthy and too much.

What Is Masturbation?

Masturbation is touching your own genitals, or other parts of your body, for sexual pleasure. It usually involves the hands, a sex toy, or both, and it does not have to end in orgasm to count.

A few things worth clearing up:

• It's normal at every age. Surveys consistently find that the large majority of adults masturbate, and plenty of people carry on doing it well into later life.

• It's normal in a relationship. Solo play and partnered sex are not competing. People in happy relationships masturbate too.

• There's no correct way to do it. Some people use their hands, some use a toy, some use pressure or a pillow or the shower. If it feels good and it isn't hurting you, it's fine.

• Mutual masturbation counts. Doing it with a partner, or in front of one, is still masturbation and comes with the same benefits plus a decent dose of intimacy.

If you've never really explored, our guide on how to give yourself an orgasm is a gentler place to start than a list of benefits.

The 10 Benefits of Masturbation

1. It Lowers Stress

Arousal and orgasm shift your nervous system out of fight-or-flight. Orgasm releases oxytocin and endorphins and dials down the tension your body has been holding, which is why people so often describe the feeling afterwards as being emptied out.

It works a bit like a short meditation. For a few minutes there is nothing in your head except sensation, and that break alone is worth something on a bad day.

2. It Helps You Sleep

The hormonal cocktail after orgasm, oxytocin, prolactin and endorphins, is a sedating one. Prolactin in particular is strongly associated with post-orgasm drowsiness.

Be aware of what the evidence actually says here. A large 2019 survey found most people reported falling asleep faster and sleeping better after orgasm. A smaller controlled 2021 study found no measurable change in sleep, even though the participants believed there was one.

So the effect may be partly perception. If it works for you, that's still a real result.

3. It Relieves Pain

Endorphins released during arousal and orgasm are your body's own painkillers, and orgasm increases blood flow to the pelvis. That combination is why masturbation can take the edge off menstrual cramps and, for some people, headaches.

It's short-term relief rather than treatment. If pain is severe or persistent, that's a conversation for a doctor, not a solution to find on your own.

4. It Improves Your Mood

Dopamine builds during arousal and anticipation, and endorphins and oxytocin follow orgasm. The net effect is a genuine lift.

That doesn't make masturbation a treatment for depression, and anyone who tells you it is has oversold it. What it does do is add a reliable, free, ten-minute mood improver to your day.

5. It Releases Sexual Tension

Sexual frustration is a physical state, not just a mental one. Left alone it can show up as restlessness and irritability. Masturbation resolves it directly, which is one of the least glamorous but most practical benefits on this list.

6. It Builds Body Confidence

Spending time with your own body teaches you what you like and what you don't. That knowledge tends to travel: people who know their own responses find it easier to ask for what they want and easier to feel comfortable being seen.

Our piece on masturbation as self care goes deeper into this side of it.

7. It Makes Partnered Sex Better

This is the benefit most people underrate. Masturbation is the lowest-pressure place to work out what actually gets you there, and you can then tell your partner instead of hoping they guess.

It's also where you practise. If you want to last longer in bed, deliberately backing off before the point of no return during solo play is the standard technique, and it's a lot easier to learn alone. The same goes for edging, and for figuring out orgasm at all if that's been difficult. A stamina stroker gives you something to practise the timing against.

8. It Strengthens Your Pelvic Floor

Orgasm involves rhythmic contraction of the pelvic floor muscles. It isn't a substitute for doing proper pelvic floor exercises, but regular orgasms do give those muscles work to do. A stronger pelvic floor supports bladder control and, in both men and women, more intense orgasms.

9. It's Good for Your Heart and Circulation

Arousal raises your heart rate and improves blood flow, which is mild cardiovascular activity rather than a workout. Harvard Health's overview of sex as exercise puts sex at roughly the same effort as a brisk walk.

For men there is a genuine long-term signal too. Regular ejaculation is associated with lower risk of prostate cancer, which we cover in more detail below.

10. It's Safe

This is a benefit even though it sounds like the absence of one. Masturbation carries no risk of pregnancy and no risk of an STI as long as you aren't sharing toys without cleaning them. That makes it the safest sexual activity there is.

The only real caveats are mechanical. Don't use anything that could break, cut or get stuck, keep grip and friction reasonable, use lube if you need it, and clean your toys before and after every use.

Benefits of Masturbation for Men

Some benefits show up specifically for men with a prostate.

• Prostate cancer risk. This is the strongest single finding in the field. The Health Professionals Follow-up Study tracked nearly 32,000 men for almost two decades. Men who ejaculated 21 or more times a month had roughly a 20% lower risk of a prostate cancer diagnosis than men ejaculating 4 to 7 times a month. The link was strongest for low-risk disease and was not significant for aggressive prostate cancer.

• Ejaculatory control. Masturbation is where most men learn where their point of no return sits. Practising with that awareness is the basis of nearly every technique for delaying orgasm, and it is far more effective than trying to work it out mid-sex.

• Prostate stimulation. Internal stimulation opens up a different kind of orgasm entirely, and it's an area a lot of men never explore. Start small, use plenty of lube, and pick something designed for it from our anal range.

• Erectile function. Regular arousal keeps blood flowing through the penis, which is part of why urologists generally treat regular sexual activity as good for erectile health.

One myth worth putting down: masturbation does not lower testosterone in any lasting way, does not cause hair loss, and does not deplete anything. If you've come across NoFap or No Nut November and wondered whether abstaining gives you a hormonal edge, the evidence doesn't support it.

Benefits of Masturbation for Women

For women the biggest gains tend to be about knowledge and about pain.

• Period pain. Orgasm increases pelvic blood flow and releases endorphins, and plenty of women use it as a first line against cramps. It's also completely mess-manageable in the shower if that's the concern.

• Learning how you orgasm. Roughly a third to a half of women report difficulty reaching orgasm with a partner, and most women need direct or indirect clitoral stimulation rather than penetration alone.  Solo play is where you find out what works, and it's the most reliable path out of that gap. A clitoral vibrator is the most direct way to find out what that feels like.

• Pelvic floor and lubrication. Regular arousal supports natural lubrication and pelvic blood flow. Around and after menopause, when tissue gets thinner and drier, staying sexually active is one of the things gynaecologists actively recommend for comfort.

• Body confidence. Getting familiar with your own anatomy without an audience is a straightforward route to feeling less self-conscious about it.

A note on a claim you'll see repeated online: masturbation is sometimes said to prevent cervical infections and urinary tract infections by flushing bacteria out. There isn't good evidence for that. What does reduce your UTI risk is peeing after sex and keeping toys clean. Don't rely on orgasm as infection prevention.

Men vs Women: What Actually Differs

The differences are worth knowing, but they're differences in emphasis. Stress, sleep, mood and confidence benefits apply to everyone.

How Often Should You Masturbate?

There is no medically recommended number. Once a month and twice a day are both inside the normal range, and neither is a health problem on its own.

The useful test isn't frequency, it's whether it fits your life. Ask:

1. Are you still doing the things you care about, showing up for work and for people?

2. Is it a choice, or does it feel compulsive?

3. Are you sore, chafed or numb afterwards?

4. Do you feel better afterwards, or worse?
   
   

If the answers are fine, your frequency is fine. If you're sore, ease off and use lube. If it's stopped feeling like a choice, that's the thing worth looking at, not the number.

Daily masturbation is healthy for most people. So is going weeks without.

Getting More Out of Solo Play

None of the above needs equipment. Your hands are enough, and always have been.

That said, a toy changes what's available to you. Suction and stroking feel different from a hand, and hands-free means you can stop steering and just receive. For men, our male sex toys include the Keon 2, an automatic stroker built for exactly the kind of stamina practice described above, since you can set a pace and hold it. For women, the range for her covers clitoral, internal and dual stimulation in body-safe silicone.

Two practical notes if you're adding a toy. Use water-based lube unless the manual says otherwise, and clean it before and after every single use. If you want ideas beyond hardware, ways to spice up your masturbation routine has plenty that cost nothing.

The benefits in this article come from doing it at all, not from doing it with anything in particular.