An opportunity to come into a more intimate relationship with your own body and sense of pleasure, masturbation is sometimes celebrated as a worthwhile act of self-love. Though many may have associated it as a “dirty” act, more and more women are reclaiming their right to explore their own bodies and feel empowered in doing so. From vibrators to toys to your very own fingers, recent statistics show that more than half of American women aged 18–49 (both single and coupled) masturbate regularly.
However, it’s easy to be concerned about whether or not masturbating often is too much of a good thing. Can using a vibrator too much make your clitoris lose sensitivity? Will masturbation make partnered sex less enjoyable? Is masturbating daily bad for your health? Let’s dive in and uncover the truth.
Is Masturbation Good For You?
The natural act of self-stimulating your genitals for arousal, the benefits to masturbation is seemingly endless. Here are some of the wonderful benefits you’re gifting yourself when you engage in the act of self-pleasure:
- Stress relief
- Improved sleep
- Reduced pain and tension
- Improved vaginal lubrication
- Improved mood
- Menstrual cramp relief
- Increased libido
Beyond that, you’re collecting valuable information to share during partnered sex. When you have more explicit awareness about what your body likes and how you most successfully orgasm, it can make it easier to communicate with your partner and elevate the experience for everyone involved. You can even invite masturbation into the bedroom to spice things up, whether they’re watching you or you’re both participating.
Can You Masturbate Too Much?
With so many benefits, can there truly be too much of a good thing? There are many floating false claims that masturbating can lead to reduced fertility or erectile dysfunction, both of which have been proven false. The term “dead vagina syndrome” was also making its rounds on the internet, describing vibrator-induced numbness. Here’s the truth about what’s actually worth worrying about and how to address it.
Compulsive masturbating
For some, masturbation can become compulsive, a repetitive behavior that’s too habitual to resist. If you find that your relationships are suffering at the expense of your masturbation, your sex life begins to dull in comparison, or you’re making it a cemented part of your routine you have to schedule around, it may be worth re-examining. Compulsive masturbating can lead to feelings of guilt or shame and even depression, though therapy can prove to be beneficial.
Numbness
If you find yourself masturbating too often or too aggressively, it may lead to reduced sexual sensation. Your clitoris may (though temporarily) go numb, making it difficult to climax as easily, either by yourself or with a partner. The clitoris is an incredibly sensitive organ with a huge number of nerve endings; therefore, prolonged direct stimulation can result in temporary desensitization. Luckily, taking a break from masturbating will give your clitoris time to heal and recover.
Injury
If you’re using intense friction when you masturbate, it is possible that you’re creating microtears in the delicate tissues in your vulva. This can make sex painful and lead to bleeding or chafing, so you may want to explore other kinds of stimulation that are less harsh or soften your methods. There are varying kinds of lube to try that may make the experience more enjoyable all around.
Hard to orgasm
It’s also been said that too much masturbation can make it hard to orgasm during partnered sex if the body gets used to the stimulation of specific places that may then be neglected during sexual intercourse. While this is worth paying attention to, the solution is less about decreasing self-pleasure and more about bringing awareness to clitoral stimulation during partnered intercourse. Orgasms through penetration can be rare for people with vaginas, which is why it’s important to be explicitly communicative during sex.
If you're suffering from vaginal dryness during or before menopause, that can affect your orgasm experience. MENO Vaginal Moisture is formulated to support healthy sexual function and vaginal moisture for better, wetter sex that may increase orgasms.
Ultimately, there’s no downside to masturbating that isn’t temporary, reversible, or minimal. It’s a healthy and natural way to explore your own body and the edges of your pleasure, increasing your sex life with others and your own sexual confidence.
A note on sex and gender: Sex and gender exist on spectrums, and this article uses terms like “male” or “female” to refer to sex assigned at birth. Learn more.
