Masturbation is the self-stimulation of your genitals for sexual pleasure. It’s one of the most common sexual behaviors across all age groups, practiced by a large majority of adults at some point in their lives. It is a normal part of human sexuality, not a sign of a medical or psychological problem.
How Common It Is
Masturbation is widespread regardless of gender, age, or relationship status. In a large UK survey of over 15,000 people, 77.5% of men and 40.3% of women reported masturbating in the past month. Those numbers have been rising over time: the percentage of women who said they had never masturbated in their lifetime dropped from 28.5% to 24.1% between the early 2000s and early 2010s. The increase in frequency was most pronounced among the youngest men surveyed, those aged 16 to 24.
People masturbate whether or not they have a sexual partner. It’s not a substitute for partnered sex so much as a separate, parallel part of most people’s sexual lives.
What Happens in Your Body
During masturbation, your body goes through the same cycle of arousal and orgasm it would during sex with a partner. Blood flow increases to the genitals, heart rate and breathing quicken, muscles tense, and orgasm produces rhythmic contractions along with a release of feel-good brain chemicals.
One well-studied response is a sharp rise in prolactin after orgasm. Prolactin levels stay elevated for more than an hour and are thought to create the sense of satisfaction and reduced arousal you feel afterward. This hormone surge happens in both men and women, but only after orgasm, not from arousal alone. It likely functions as a natural “cool down” signal, telling your brain the drive has been fulfilled for now.
Physical Health Benefits
Masturbation carries several documented physical benefits. It can improve sleep, likely because of the hormonal shifts and muscle relaxation that follow orgasm. It can also reduce general aches and pain, since orgasm triggers the release of the body’s natural painkillers.
For women, masturbation can relieve menstrual cramps. In older adults, regular masturbation may reduce vaginal dryness and decrease pain during intercourse by maintaining blood flow and tissue flexibility in the genital area.
The most striking data involves prostate cancer risk in men. The Harvard Health Professionals Follow-Up Study tracked over 29,000 men and found that those who ejaculated 21 or more times per month had a 31% lower risk of prostate cancer compared to men who ejaculated 4 to 7 times per month. An Australian study of 2,338 men found a similar pattern: men averaging about 5 to 7 ejaculations per week were 36% less likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer before age 70 than men who ejaculated fewer than about 2 times per week. The theory is that frequent ejaculation helps flush out potentially cancer-causing substances that build up in the prostate gland.
Mental and Emotional Effects
Masturbation is a reliable, accessible way to reduce stress and tension. The hormonal cascade that follows orgasm promotes relaxation and can ease anxiety in the short term. Many people use it as a tool to wind down before sleep, and this is backed by the sleep-quality improvements noted in clinical research.
Beyond stress relief, masturbation plays a role in sexual self-knowledge. Understanding what feels good on your own body makes it easier to communicate preferences with a partner. Sex therapists have long used self-stimulation as a structured treatment for people who have difficulty reaching orgasm. In clinical settings, guided masturbation training has helped people with lifelong orgasmic difficulty learn to climax, with results that hold up months later.
Common Myths
Old myths about masturbation causing blindness, hair loss, infertility, or mental illness have no basis in medical science. These ideas originated in 18th and 19th century moral campaigns, not from any observed health outcomes. Modern medicine recognizes masturbation as a safe activity with no inherent physical harms. It does not reduce fertility, stunt growth, or cause any of the conditions historically attributed to it.
When It Becomes a Problem
There is no set number of times per day or week that qualifies as “too much.” Masturbation only becomes a concern when it starts interfering with your daily responsibilities, relationships, or emotional well-being. If you feel unable to stop despite wanting to, if it causes you to skip work or avoid social situations, or if it leads to physical soreness from excessive friction, those are signs worth paying attention to.
The clinical picture here is still evolving. Compulsive sexual behavior is not a standalone diagnosis in the main psychiatric manual used in the United States, though the World Health Organization’s international classification system does recognize compulsive sexual behavior disorder as an impulse control condition. Mental health professionals generally look at the consequences of the behavior, not the frequency alone. If masturbation is causing distress or real-world problems in your life, it can be addressed with a therapist who specializes in sexual health, often with good outcomes.