Sex & Relationships
Here's what the experts say.
Self-love is no longer the taboo it once was — which is a great thing, because pretty much everyone does it. But how often should you masturbate, according to science? And how often do most women masturbate? If you enjoy getting yourself off regularly, you’re definitely not alone.
According to a 2017 survey published in PLOS One, about 64% of men and 40.8% of women had masturbated within the last month. And according to research by sexual wellness brand TENGA, women masturbate on average about twice a week, while men do so every other day. Aside from the pleasure principle, masturbation has a myriad of health benefits: It can be a pain reliever and an anti-stress behavior. “It [also] keeps your genitals in good shape, whether or not you have a partner,” Carol Queen, Ph.D., sex educator and staff sexologist at Good Vibrations, tells Romper. The endorphins released when you climax can also help relieve menstrual cramps.
Additionally, a little masturbation before bed can help you sleep. “Having an orgasm while masturbating or during intercourse causes a release of prolactin, which is thought to help in a better night’s sleep,” board-certified OB/GYN Dr. Sherry Ross, M.D., tells Romper.
Is there such thing as too much or too little masturbation?
What is unhealthy masturbation behavior? Compulsive masturbation, for one, is considered an addiction. How do you know if you're compulsively masturbating? “Compulsivity might be in play if you can't meet your obligations (school, work, loved ones) or stay sequestered and asocial so you can masturbate,” Queen explains.
On the flip side, should you be doing it more often? Only you can determine the frequency with which you should masturbate. “Generally the answer is ‘as often as you desire to do it and have enough privacy,’” Queen says. In other words, as long as you're living a healthy and productive life, then how often you feel yourself is literally best left in your own hands.
There’s a happy medium when determining how often is right for you to masturbate, as Queen explains. “You are not masturbating so much that you fail to meet your life's requirements or goals, like [not getting] to class or work on time, [or having] no social life because you're too busy masturbating,” she says. “You're also not doing it so much that you frequently irritate yourself or make yourself sore. And you are masturbating enough that your desire for erotic sensation is met.”
Below, find some interesting statistics and facts about masturbation — who's doing it and how often (hint: it’s a whole lot of people).
1
Women in their 30s masturbate very frequently
It's not called dirty 30 for nothing. (Kidding!) There's nothing dirty about masturbation; it's fun and healthy. According to the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior, 9% of women between the ages of 30 and 39 report masturbating two to three times a week. That might not seem like a high number, but the percentage leaps to 22% of women who claim to masturbate a few times per month to weekly.
2
Women in middle age keep masturbating
According to the same survey, 35 to 38% of women aged 40 to 60 masturbate monthly.
3
Seniors masturbate as well
Older women have sexual desires, no matter how much society tries to pretend otherwise. Women aged 70 and up, according to the same survey, are still feeling themselves — in fact, approximately 26% of senior women masturbate monthly.
4
There's an app for female masturbation
The company HappyPlayTime, founded by Tina Gong, is an app designed to remove the stigma of female masturbation. From lessons in anatomy to mini masturbation how-to games, the HappyPlayTime app is designed for millennial women to shed the shame of self-pleasure through the science of technology.
5
A nun wrote a book praising masturbation
Yale professor of ethics Sister Margaret Farley wrote a book called Just Love, a Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics to give Christian women the go-ahead to self-pleasure. This radical book drew criticism from the Vatican, but it makes a solid argument for every woman's right to feel herself.
6
Some asexual people masturbate, too
Just because someone isn’t interested in sex with someone else, doesn’t mean they are certainly against sex with themselves. “While some asexual [people] simply don't experience attraction to or desire sex with other people but do feel the urge to masturbate, some don't,” Queen tells Romper. “Anything we hear about sex that implies everyone does it is probably wrong.”
While society might have all kinds of opinions about your masturbation habits, remember that it's your body and your pleasure. So, do it as frequently as you wish.
Studies:
Herbenick, D., Bowling, J., Fu, T. J., Dodge, B., Guerra-Reyes, L., & Sanders, S. (2017). Sexual diversity in the United States: Results from a nationally representative probability sample of adult women and men. PloS one, 12(7), e0181198. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0181198
Sprouse-Blum, A. S., Smith, G., Sugai, D., & Parsa, F. D. (2010). Understanding endorphins and their importance in pain management. Hawaii medical journal, 69(3), 70–71.
Herbenick, D., Reece, M., Schick, V., Sanders, S. A., Dodge, B., & Fortenberry, J. D. (2010). Sexual behavior in the United States: Results from a national probability sample of men and women ages 14–94. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 7, 255–265. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2010.02012.x
Sources:
Carol Queen, Ph.D., sex educator and staff sexologist at Good Vibrations
Dr. Sherry Ross, M.D., board-certified OB/GYN, author of She-ology, and Co-Founder of URJA Intimates skin care
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