1. Welcome to NoFap! We have disabled new forum accounts from being registered for the time being. In the meantime, you can join our weekly accountability groups.
    Dismiss Notice

What about the scientific evidence for masturbation?

Discussion in 'Abstinence, Retention, and Sexual Transmutation' started by Daithi, Jun 25, 2015.

  1. Daithi

    Daithi New Fapstronaut

    4
    1
    3
    I have noticed the energetic benefits of holding in my semen. It may be placebo, it may be real, but its probably a bit of both. My only problem is that there is alot of "scientific evidence" for the benefits of masturbation. What do you guys think about the scientific benefits for masturbation?

    I have a thing for favoring science over most things, but I can not help but to not deny the benefits I personally feel.

    Here are the sources in that link so people can check it out:
    http://www.lehmiller.com/blog/2014/3/3/a-scientists-response-to-the-war-on-masturbation

    "...studies have found that masturbation is linked to higher self-esteem among women [1] and, among men, a lower likelihood of developing prostate cancer [2]. Research has also found that masturbatory orgasms provide a boost to the immune system. Specifically, one study found that after a masturbatory orgasm, men experienced an increase in leukocytes and natural killer cells (both of which are helpful in fighting off infections) compared to men who did not climax [3]. Related to this, some sexual health experts have claimed that female masturbation may prevent certain cervical infections because the cervix opens during sexual arousal, allowing bacteria to be flushed out. Of course, I should also mention that masturbation is the safest form of sex anyone can have because there is no risk of spreading or contracting STIs.

    Second, masturbation does not appear to be harmful to people's sex lives or relationships either. For example, studies have found that masturbation is linked to having more sexual partners and more frequent sex [4]. Likewise, research on heterosexual married women has found that female masturbators report having happier marriages and more satisfying sex than their non-masturbating counterparts [5]. These and numerous other studies have revealed that masturbation is linked to more positive than negative outcomes."


    Here are some sources from that link:

    1] Hurlbert, D. F., & Whittaker, K. E. (1991). The role of masturbation in marital and sexual satisfaction: A comparative study of female masturbators and nonmasturbators. Journal of Sex Education & Therapy, 17, 272-282.

    [2] Giles, G. G., Severi, G., English, D. R., McCredie, M. R. E., Borland, R., Boyle, P., & Hopper, J. L. (2003). Sexual factors and prostate cancer. British Journal of Urology International, 92, 211-216.

    [3] Haake, P., Krueger, T. H., Goebel, M. U., Heberling, K. M., Hartmann, U., & Schedlowski, M. (2004). Effects of sexual arousal on lymphocyte subset circulation and cytokine production in man.Neuroimmunomodulation, 11, 293-298.

    [4] Pinkerton, S. D., Bogart, L. M., Cecil, H., & Abramson, P. R. (2003). Factors associated with masturbation in a collegiate sample. Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality, 14, 103-121.

    [5] Hurlbert, D. F., & Whittaker, K. E. (1991). The role of masturbation in marital and sexual satisfaction: A comparative study of female masturbators and nonmasturbators. Journal of Sex Education & Therapy, 17, 272-282.



    I think some of these results may not be holistic enough, or do not show the whole picture. I think for the immune system for example, they say there is an increase in leukocytes in people who masturbate, but that can't be the only indicator for a good immune system. The evidence for prostate cancer is worth noting. I really dont know what is true. Other animals dont masturbate nearly as much as humans, but prostate cancer is not that big of a problem for them. Also, self esteem is a weird one, because I experience the opposite. My self esteem is higher when I dont masturbate.

    A very likely response is that masturbation is beneficial, but it is porn that is bad. That could be true, but for people who believe that MO is not best use of one's time, than how would you argue against the evidence?
     
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2015
    pezzer likes this.
  2. NoBrainer

    NoBrainer Distinguished Fapstronaut

    2,176
    1,740
    143
    Reading the comments of that post is interesting as there are people who have written from the nofap forum. Their comments are more eloquent than what I could write on the topic:
    And here's another one:
     
  3. You will find no scientific evidence against masturbation.In fact there are some of its benefits not mentioned here.
    With that said I have moral and religious problems with masturbation.
    Also compulsive masturbation like once or more every day is not at all good as it drains nearly all your energy.
    Also using masturbation to escape from real world is a huge problem.
     
    Targaryenn likes this.
  4. Darker

    Darker Fapstronaut

    53
    21
    8
    I'm a little skeptical about this studies. The ideology of sexual revolution can influence some results. But some studies may be serious. The study about protate cancer seems resonable. But the fact is that at the same time that you are lowering the risk of cancer, you are doing something that can became a addiction.
     
    MONSTER MONK likes this.
  5. Kenji

    Kenji Guest

    Not much in terms of references to studies on this site but if you browse long enough you should hopefully get the point,

    www.semenloss.info

    [​IMG]
     
    MONSTER MONK likes this.
  6. Masquerade

    Masquerade Fapstronaut

    351
    248
    43
    I believe what i experience in my life.Even if science say its good to masturbate or it improves this or that.If i feel weak,if i feel drained then i dont find it good for me.thats all the evidence i have :)
     
    dicul, Targaryenn, mobser and 5 others like this.
  7. KeenEye

    KeenEye Fapstronaut

    231
    116
    43
    Why do we have to ignore our own in experiences in the favor of "science"? Tens of thousands of fapstronauts report amazing benefits, yet people go and read some article that uses references and such and accept it. If science says masturbation is not harmful, then science is wrong.
    Stronger immune system? Why is it that I get sick when I masturbate? How is it that this year I only got sick once (this year I was a good Fapstronaut) and only got sick after masturbating twice? If masturbation is so good, then why didn't my immune system get twice as strong after I masturbated twice?
    My does my back pain come back and enthusiasm disappear after I masturbate? Or when I can't maintain eye contact with people? Or my weak voice? Or my weak looking muscles? Or my anxiety and empty-bitterness? Or my falling down a pit of suffering after I PMO? I can assure that guilt is no morw than 20% of those.
    Why do I have to believe in "experts" when these things are as obvious to me as anything. I would rather think that these experts are paid to say this and their vices make them do this. The victorian doctors certainly disagreed with this, as do the taoists and all the other fapstronauts throughout history. These are all lies. I've had 5 relationships when I masturbated and they were boring and uninteresting for the most part. If masturbation is so wonderful and if I did it 3 times a day, I should have been the next Romeo. No, these things are all lies or plain ignorance. Trust in your experiences and your intuition. We are more than just obeying something labelled as science. If science stands against your experiences then science is wrong.

    Also, I would live a short life of 5 years from prostate cancer than lead a life where I PMO, something that stands against almost everything I see as good. But "studies" have also found that men who abstain are slightly less likely to get it than those who do.
     
    Blufly, dicul, mobser and 7 others like this.
  8. Conspiracy theory everywhere -__-
     
    dicul likes this.
  9. Andre2807

    Andre2807 Fapstronaut

    232
    273
    63
    And your point is?
     
  10. Kenji

    Kenji Guest

    Hey if people like Homer and Pythagoras and thousands upon thousands of Ayurvedic and TCM doctors and practicioners of Eastern ways of thinking and a select few brilliant Western doctors all believe semen is the most vital substance in the body, more vital than blood, that is enough evidence for me, as if I needed evidence.

    I first learned of the importance of semen about 10 years ago when I started training internal martial arts. Practicioners are advised not to ejaculate at all while training or if they plan on mastering the style.

    I wasn't gonna post in this thread as it is in the shallow end of the knowledge pool and I prefer deep waters myself, but reading things like scientific evidence and masturbation is healthy just ruffle my feathers.

    Do you need scientific evidence to tell you why BREATHING IS GOOD FOR YOU? I know, I know, here have a hug, why are there studies being perpetuated by the mass media saying masturbation is a fine and dandy and even healthy thing? Spilling your semen like a baboon by the grip of your hand is a much welcome release, no? You will feel refreshed and stress free after? These Western minds perpetuating such thoughts and creating studies that will of course support THEIR THOUGHTS (look anyone can create a 'study' that will produce any evidence they want it to to support their claim) no doubt are horny themselves and probably fap and are delighted to create a study that justifies fapping.

    'Pythagoras had taught his followers, the Pythagoreans about the important alchemical properties contained in semen. Pythagoras was not celebate or a virgin. He was married and had children, but he also understood that semen is a vital fluid that is of the same substance of our brains and our creative energy. An energy that is best conserved for the brain, rather than just for pleasure secreted through our semen in a wasteful manner. A Pythagorean physician named Alemeon, claimed that the semen, when conserved, is transformed into brain nourishment and represents potential brain matter. Many philosophers were celibate or had practiced continent lives such as Plato, Aristotle, Leonardo da Vinci, Newton, Beethoven, etc.'

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 26, 2015
  11. Man,how badly i wish i had seen this stuff when i was 13...
    It's only in the past 2 years or so that these websites emerged...where were they when i needed them..
     
    KeenEye likes this.
  12. All the scientific community are agents for the sexual revolution and porn industry and they spend years on their studies to help them.
    Very impressive. :D
     
  13. KeenEye

    KeenEye Fapstronaut

    231
    116
    43
    Whatever the thoeries, Kurapika, everyone who is "scientific" or not that claims masturbation is normal and healthy, is wrong. My knowledge of this has never been clearer. People in denial of this are still in the grip of PMO.
     
  14. I think masturbation is a selfish act and it doesnt make sense to do that.If you are in a realtionship that is satifisying and healthy.Why should you masturbate?I felt a clear diffrence bettween me not fapping and me fapping.I feel empty,like something has been taken from me and for some strange reason I always feel guilty about doing it.I am a man of science myself but the thing about science is that is it never 100% accurate unless its a scientific theory that has a mountain of evidence to support it.A study will come along one day that will show that masturbation has some huge disadvantages.
     
  15. Alden

    Alden Fapstronaut

    19
    7
    3
    Who would you believe? The hundreds or thousands of fapstraunauts who have experienced both worlds—as compulsive masturbators and as nofap practitioners for months or years who, coming out of the matrix, now tell everyone that they will never go back to their former state? Or these so-called masturbation-defending scientists who probably are masturbators themselves and have never experienced nofap for more than a month in their lives, so they have no reliable hands-on experience of being on the other end of the rope.
     
    Indurian and Deleted Account like this.
  16. True. All those so called scientists who do so called studies on the benefits of masturbation, make it up just to justify their selfishness.
     
  17. Calvinklein

    Calvinklein Fapstronaut

    178
    62
    28
    From what i have experienced nofap has not much benifits. But its fapping that have huge negetivities. Everything has positive and negetives. But for me fap negetive outweighs positives by a big margin. So hell with all those researches. Another reason why there research are not complete is that they have not conducted much research on people with severe pmo addiction. 2 years ago people didnt even confess they are severely addicted. With limited study group how can we have a proper study. Few years from now medical books will have fap related disorders
     
  18. Alden

    Alden Fapstronaut

    19
    7
    3
    Let me show you what happens to my day whenever I watch porn and masturbate and what happens when I don't... Fuck porn! Fuck masturbation! This is the only evidence I need...
    Picture2.png
     
  19. Did you know Heroin lowers blood pressure and reduces your risk of a heart attack? It does (not even kidding, it's a CNS depressant, so lowers heart rate, blood pressure etc)

    Does that make Heroin healthy/safe? No. It also has a whole host of negatives that make these positives kind of worthless in the long run.

    Masturbation is similar. It does have some positive effects, but these are balanced out by the negatives even with infrequent masturbation - and once that masturbation becomes frequent, the negatives VASTLY outweigh the potential benefits, particularly in men where the problem is complicated further by the hormonal changes induced by masturbation.

    Masturbation itself, much like porn, causes a feedback loop of dopamine release - and constantly utilising it makes us identical to those rats in experiments that are given a lever that gives them a similar dopamine fix. Those rats will pull the lever on repeat until they die of starvation, because dopamine is the chemical responsible for wiring in our reward circuits (i.e. the circuits that tell us which activities are important to our survival). When you hijack your dopamine levels and can alter them as much as you please just by "pulling your lever" (hurr), it becomes hardwired into your brain that whatever this activity is, with that much dopamine being released, it must be vital for survival - and that's why PMO habits stick hard.

    Now onto the hormonal effects. When you ejaculate, the body releases beta-endorphin, a natural opiate, much like the aforementioned Heroin, albeit produced entirely inside the body. Much like Heroin and other opiates, beta-endorphin plays havoc with the male hormonal system, and decreases expression of the receptors where Testosterone and Dihydrotestosterone bind. This is known as sexual exhaustion, and it plays a role in erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, low energy and confidence, and the other negatives of PMO.

    Funnily enough, my comparison to Heroin was justified - as giving rats the drug used to treat Heroin overdose right after ejaculation, prevents sexual exhaustion from occurring. Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12914589 - technically, we could masturbate all we like, take naloxone after orgasm, and not experience the major hormonal negatives of masturbation.. BUT, naloxone makes you feel like you're going through opiate withdrawal, even if you've never taken opiates before - i.e. cold sweats, puking, fever, feeling like you're about to die, extreme anxiety, etc.. So, scrub that idea out of your head if you were considering it.

    Your hormones are key to your feelings of confidence, happiness, well-being, energy etc. Messing with them is FAR worse than losing the marginal benefits that masturbation offers. If tomorrow a new preventative medicine was announced that lowers your risk of prostate cancer by say 1%, but causes anxiety, depression, lack of libido, low energy, erectile dysfunction, and premature ejaculation etc came out - would you take it? Because that's basically masturbation in a nut shell.

    The irony is all of this is out there and has been researched, it's just that people are very good at selectively only quoting one piece of information and not looking at the big picture. Someone could easily write an article applauding the benefits of smoking - nicotine is a nootropic and improves your mental capacities for a short duration. Smoking also reduces your risk of developing Parkinson's later in life. Source: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/...ionid=B573037E1F76EC6A4631BDC81891F983.f02t02

    Should we all start smoking now? No of course not, because that's only one tiny part of the picture - when you look at the whole picture, you see smoking destroys the lungs and health in so many ways, that a marginally lower chance of Parkinsons, or nootropic effects, would never be worth it.

    In fact, smoking is a perfect example. Just like masturbation is today - smoking was marketed as being trendy and healthy in the past, and now, the rest of the picture has been revealed and no-one would dare claim smoking was healthy. One day the same will be the case for excessive masturbation.

    Also, with regards to the prostate cancer thing. Newer research has come out saying the complete opposite - that frequent masturbation RAISES the risk of prostate cancer in young men. It's only in older men above 40 where it has some benefit.

    http://www.mensfitness.com/training/give-thing-rest
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 29, 2016

Share This Page