5 Serious Health Benefits of Masturbation

For far too long, there was an inescapable stigma surrounding masturbation. To a certain extent, it’s still there, but at least we’re making progress. Where we were once told that masturbating could make us go blind, cause hair to grow on our palms or be a sign of mental illness, thankfully, we’ve moved past that and are now focusing on the opposite: how masturbation can improve your health.

* Stress-buster

If you’ve had a rough day and find that you’re a wound-up ball of stress, a little self-love may be just what you need .

* Pain relief

We’re not saying that every time you feel a headache come on at work you should slip away for a few minutes to take care of it this way, but masturbation (in appropriate settings) can help you manage pain. It’s especially helpful when dealing with menstrual cramps and muscle tension.

* Prevent some infections

While we mostly hear about infections caused by sexual activity, we typically don’t hear the flipside: that masturbation can actually do the opposite.

* Good for penises too

Because genitalia are not tied to gender identity, this is a good time to check in regarding what masturbation can do to help people with a penis. Not only can it help with erectile dysfunction, Franco says, but it may mean penetrative sex that lasts longer.

* Improve your sleep

If you do experience orgasm while masturbating, a huge wave of endorphins surge through your system, and that has also been shown to help you have deeper, higher-quality sleep.