Masturbation. It’s not only just a great thing to do when you have some extra time on your hands, but it’s also probably the safest sex you can have.
It's something that most of us have not stopped doing once we learned what it was and how good it makes us feel. So we should know everything there about the individual sport by now, right?
Men's Health thinks there are some things the average self-pleasing man may not know. Here's 11 things they feel you probably never knew about your favorite hobby. Head over to Men's Health for all of the elaboration on each fact.
1. MALE FETUSES MIGHT MASTURBATE IN UTERO
In a recent study from Harvard, men who ejaculated 21 or more times per month had a 19 to 22 percent lower risk of prostate cancer than men who did so only four to seven times per month. Considering roughly 220,800 cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed a year, according to the American Cancer Society, it’s worth trying.
A 2016 study discovered a fairly groundbreaking statistic about masturbation: Only 57 percent of straight men masturbate on a regular basis. According to study author Debby Herbenick, Ph.D., the reason for this can vary. Some men could just be having lots of sex with their partners. For others, it could simply be a lack of interest. While for others, a suggested 14 to 17 percent, it’s a matter of a low desire.
It’s probably nothing to worry about if you fall into the category of non-masturbators—and ditto if you masturbate a lot. As long as your masturbation frequency doesn’t interfere with your daily life, “too much” and “masturbation” don’t belong in the same sentence.
You’ve probably heard of sex injuries, but how about masturbation injuries?
It’s one thing to lose an erection during sex – thanks to a variety of things like stress, exhaustion, performance anxiety, etc. – but men can also lose their erection during masturbation. However, in this case, it could be a lot worse than simply being too stressed to keep it up and keep it going. Researchers in Italy found that 45 percent of men were unable to maintain an erection while masturbating, and those guys had a greater risk of heart disease. While going limp during a self-love sesh isn’t a guarantee that you’ll end up with ticker trouble, erectile dysfunction is an early sign of cardiovascular issues and is absolutely something you should have checked out by your doctor.
Research may have confirmed that men masturbate more than women, but men aren’t the kings of the castle when it comes to masturbation. Although the evolutionary reason behind it is lost on scientists, animals also masturbate. Some animals like to rub their genitals against different outside sources or, if they’re flexible enough, they’ll even give themselves oral sex – for example, walruses can pull this off no problem. Other animals like moose get off by rubbing their antlers against trees, porcupines prefer sticks, and squirrels will even masturbate until they ejaculate. Then, they’ll consume the ejaculate, which might be a market they’ve cornered.
Did you learn anything? A couple of things were surprising.
And I believe I've dates some walruses and some squirrels before.
h/t: Men's Health