"Can Self-Pleasure Affect My Health and Relationship?" Here’s What Experts Have to Say

There are many myths about masturbation but they are only myths. It is actually healthy for your relationship and health.

Source: Getty Images

By Asmita S

June 24, 2020

Posted June 24, 2020

Masturbation or pleasuring yourself, unlike what people say, will not lead to blindness as you already know. These are just things people told teenagers to scare them off from masturbating too much. However, growing up you most likely heard more conversations addressing men who masturbate, than women. But you've long realized that women too have those urges and there's no harm in making yourself feel good. For some people, masturbation can be associated with guilt and shame, but it is actually healthy, both for your body and relationship.

Firstly, it is an integral part of sexual development in humans. Secondly, it leads to no pregnancy or STI's. It can also have benefits to physical and emotional health. A study, Prevalence, Frequency, and Associations of Masturbation With Partnered Sexual Behaviors Among US Adolescents, has also shown a link between masturbation in childhood and adolescence with positive intimate experiences later in life and a healthy self-image for women.

People still have questions about how it affects their health and relationships. Here are some of your questions, answered:

1. Does it mean I am losing interest in my relationship?

Psychologist Alfred Kinsey and his work on male and female sexuality had been important work on the subject. It showed how sexual satisfaction in relationships was connected to previous experiences of having an orgasm, according to Psychology Today. Research suggests that when married women pleasured themselves to orgasm they would experience more marital and physical satisfaction than women who did not. So, rather than it being a sign of disinterest, it actually means that you want more from your relationship.

2. Can it induce labor?

During pregnancy, women undergo a sea change when it comes to hormones and can feel more desire. In that case, masturbation can become a safe way to release sexual tension when intercourse becomes difficult. It can also alleviate symptoms like lower back pain, according to Healthline. During pregnancy, you could feel irregular cramping or Braxton-Hicks contractions, during and after orgasm. It should normally stop but if you keep experiencing it and it becomes more painful and frequent, you should see your doctor right away.

3. Can it desensitize the clitoris?

The clitoris is an extremely sensitive organ with a large number of nerve endings. When it's stimulated the same way at the same rate for a while it can result in temporary desensitization. While women might feel that they can't feel arousal or orgasm again, it will change after a while. However, if you feel a loss of sensitivity for a long period, it could be because of menopause, breastfeeding, taking hormonal contraceptives, etc, according to Flo.

4. Will talking about masturbation with my partner affect my relationship?

Only in the best possible way. It's always good when you are able to tell your partner exactly what you like and how you want to be touched. Open communication will drastically improve your physical intimacy and the relationship. Another benefit is that when your household is one which has positive views about intimacy, the younger generations also learn about healthy behaviors and also to accept their bodies, claims the conversation.

5. How does it affect my health?

There are multiple benefits to masturbating like understanding your body better, improving intercourse, relieving stress, improving your mood, relieving you of sexual and emotional tension. It can also improve sleep quality and decrease the negative symptoms of depression. It also improves your immune system.

For women, it helps prevent cervical infections and urinary tract infections. The process of “tenting" or the opening of the cervix that occurs as part of the arousal process, stretches the cervix and cervical mucous. In turn, it allows fluid circulation, which flushes out bacteria. It can have other long-term benefits like lowering the risk of type-2 diabetes.

6. Is it okay to masturbate if I am married or in a relationship?

Happily married people masturbate as well, as do those in committed relationships. There are those who think that masturbating when married is somewhat of a betrayal however that just means that you are not embracing positive views. One theory suggests that people indulge in pleasuring oneself to enhance intercourse with their partner, according to Psychology Today. In fact, a paper Masturbation and Partnered Sex: Substitutes or Complements? suggested that sexually content women in relationships were more likely to report masturbation.