Masturbating can release healthy amounts of hormones that have a positive effect on your health and mood. But some people may have negative experiences.
Masturbation is an act of sexual self-pleasure and satisfaction that involves stimulating your own genitals. There’s a lot of conflicting information, myths, and rumors about whether masturbation is good or bad for you.
However, it’s important to know that masturbating is natural and safe. It could be a fun way to explore your body and sexual preferences, and may even have positive brain benefits.
Research shows that sexual activities like masturbation involve many different parts of the brain and can stimulate cognitive, emotional, and automatic processes.
Whether you masturbate is up to you and only you. If you do, rest assured that doing so won’t cause any physical harm. And if you don’t, there’s no harm, no foul, for you either.
Keep reading to learn more about the possible beneficial effects of masturbation on the brain.
Masturbation causes your body to release several hormones, including:
- Dopamine: This is one of the “happiness hormones,” which is related to your brain’s reward system.
- Endorphins: The body’s natural pain reliever, endorphins also have de-stressing and mood-boosting effects.
- Oxytocin: This hormone is often called the love hormone and is associated with social bonding.
- Testosterone: This hormone is released during sex to help improve stamina and arousal.
- Prolactin: This hormone plays an important role in lactation and influences your mood and immune system.
The release of these hormones may have several positive effects on your mood, sleep, concentration, and physical health.
Hormones like dopamine, endorphins, and oxytocin are all called “happiness hormones” because they’re associated with:
- many positive emotions, such as flourishing, happiness, calmness, and success
- psychological effects, such as stress reduction, bonding, and calmness
Some research also found that masturbating may help you feel a little better when your mood is low.
For instance, a 2024 study found that clitoral masturbation helped relieve feelings of stress and boosted the moods of participants.
Similarly, a 2021 review found that masturbating helped soothe feelings of anxiety in males because they’re actively making themselves feel better.
You might have heard of “post-nut clarity,” a situation where your brain suddenly feels focused after you have an orgasm.
Indeed, many people find that masturbating helps them concentrate better, so they may masturbate before working, studying, or taking a test.
Limited research has examined the possible role of masturbation on focus and concentration, but some studies suggest it may help boost cognition. For instance:
- A 2016 study found that sexual activity like masturbating and intercourse helped improve word recall and number sequencing in men, while women only experienced improvements in word recall.
- A 2019 study also found that masturbating helped improve word recall in women.
While oxytocin is commonly known as the “love hormone” and is associated with social bonding, it’s also associated with de-stressing and relaxation.
Oxytocin may help relieve anxiety and stress by lowering your cortisol levels, a hormone associated with stress, by reducing the secretion of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) from the brain.
Masturbation to help you fall asleep is one of the most commonly reported reasons why people masturbate.
This may be due to the effects of oxytocin and endorphins on relaxation.
However, it’s important to note that masturbation’s sleep-improving effects may only be self-perceived.
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Masturbating can be a way of practicing self-love, getting to know your body, and spending quality time on your own.
This may generate more positive feelings toward masturbation, which can
While masturbation may have some physical and brain health benefits, it could also contribute to improving your sex life. Some research suggests that it could help you maintain:
- sex drive (libido)
- arousal
- orgasm
- sexual function, pleasure, and satisfaction
Masturbating can also help you gain confidence and figure out what’s pleasurable and exciting for you, which can help you show your partner what you enjoy.
There may be psychological, physical, and emotional health benefits of masturbation, but it’s important to highlight that some people may have negative experiences with masturbation.
You might dislike the feeling or simply be uninterested in it. That’s fine! Whether you choose to masturbate or not is up to you.
Sometimes, however, the act of masturbating or the desire to masturbate may cause feelings of guilt, anxiety, conflict, shame, or self-loathing. This may be due to several factors, such as:
- having certain religious and spiritual beliefs, which may consider masturbating a “sin”
- being in a relationship
- hearing societal stigmas, myths, and medical information
Masturbating may also be difficult, stressful, or upsetting if you’ve experienced sexual trauma.
If you would like to masturbate but experience negative feelings about it, consider speaking with a therapist. They can help you identify, understand, and work through your feelings, which may help you enjoy masturbating.
Can underlying health conditions affect masturbation?
Some underlying health conditions could also make masturbation difficult, which may lead to feelings of frustration. These may include:
- erectile dysfunction
- low libido
- vaginal dryness
- dyspareunia (painful intercourse)
- post-orgasmic illness syndrome, a condition in which people experience flu-like symptoms after orgasm
If you think you have an underlying condition that makes it difficult to masturbate and it’s bothering you, talk with a doctor you trust.
Masturbation is an act of sexual self-pleasure that may help boost your mood, improve sleep quality, and reduce stress.
Whether you masturbate and how you feel about it is individual.
Masturbate if you’d like to, but don’t feel pressured to masturbate if you don’t enjoy it — it’s really up to you!
