The vast majority of men masturbate. Data from British national surveys found that 77.5% of men reported masturbating in the past month alone, and lifetime rates are higher still. Masturbation is one of the most common sexual behaviors across all age groups, and rates have been trending upward over the past two decades.
How Common Is It by Age
The National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior, conducted by Indiana University’s Kinsey Institute, provides one of the most detailed breakdowns. Among men aged 18 to 59, about a quarter reported masturbating a few times per month to weekly. Roughly 20% masturbated two to three times per week, and just under 20% did so four or more times a week.
Older men were more likely to report no masturbation in the previous year, but the behavior doesn’t disappear with age. It remains common well into later decades, just at lower frequencies on average. Among younger men, rates are highest, with solo sexual activity often starting in adolescence and peaking in the late teens and twenties.
Rates Have Been Rising
Masturbation has become more common over time, not less. British national surveys tracking sexual behavior found that the percentage of men reporting masturbation in the past month rose from 73.4% to 77.5% between the early 2000s and 2010 to 2012. Women saw a similar increase, from 37% to 40.3% over the same period.
Greater openness about sexuality and easier access to sexual content online likely contribute to this trend, though researchers also point to relationship dynamics. Men who reported the highest frequency of intercourse were actually less likely to report masturbating recently. Those who did masturbate more frequently were more likely to say they wanted more sex than they were having, had mismatched desire levels with a partner, or were experiencing sexual difficulties in their relationship. In other words, masturbation often fills a gap when partnered sex isn’t meeting someone’s needs.
What Happens in the Body
During masturbation and orgasm, the body releases dopamine and oxytocin. Dopamine drives feelings of pleasure and reward, while oxytocin promotes relaxation and emotional bonding. Together, these counteract cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone. This is why masturbation can feel calming and why many people find it helps with sleep or tension relief.
These hormonal effects are the same ones triggered by partnered sex. The body doesn’t distinguish between the two in any meaningful way when it comes to the chemical response.
The Prostate Health Connection
One of the more notable findings in men’s health research involves ejaculation frequency and prostate cancer risk. A large Harvard study found that men who ejaculated 21 or more times per month had a 31% lower risk of prostate cancer compared to men who ejaculated four to seven times per month. A separate analysis found that men averaging about five to seven ejaculations per week were 36% less likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer before age 70 than men who ejaculated fewer than two to three times per week.
These studies tracked ejaculation from all sources, not just masturbation specifically. But for men without regular partnered sex, masturbation is the primary way to reach higher ejaculation frequencies. The research doesn’t prove that ejaculation directly prevents cancer, but the correlation has held up across multiple large studies over many years.
Is There a “Normal” Frequency
There isn’t one. Some men masturbate daily, others a few times a month, and some rarely or never. All of these patterns fall within the range that researchers observe in large population surveys. The Kinsey Institute data shows men spread fairly evenly across the frequency spectrum, from several times a week to not at all in the past year.
Masturbation only becomes a concern when it interferes with daily responsibilities, causes physical irritation, or creates significant distress. For the large majority of men, it’s a routine part of sexual life that carries no physical or psychological downsides.