Masturbation: The Benefits

When it comes to a bit of solo play, nothing can beat it (👀). Masturbation is not only the safest sex you can have, but it comes with a ton of benefits that enhance other parts of your life too. Wanking, rubbing one out, spanking the monkey, tickling the taco – whatever you call it. The Mix and HANX are taking matters into our own hands (so to speak) to give you the lowdown on why masturbation is so great…

It’s Masturbation May! To celebrate the occasion, The Mix joins forces with HANX to promote sex positivity. HANX provides sustainable products for the bedroom along with sex-positive advice via their website. Together, The Mix and HANX aim to crush those myths and beat off that negativity when it comes to all things sex.

What is masturbation?

Masturbation is simply the act of giving yourself sexual pleasure. Usually, it involves touching or rubbing parts of your body that sexually stimulate you. There are no strict rules about how you do this. Most people use their hands, others use toys. It’s completely up to you. And no, it doesn’t make you blind (or pregnant) and, contrary to popular belief, a kitten won’t die every time you rub one out.

So with the kittens saved, let’s explore the benefits of masturbation…

Relieve stress

It’s been a long day and you need a release. Luckily, masturbation is a natural way to relieve stress and tension, helping you wind down and feel more relaxed. A wank after a hard day’s work or studying can also help you manage your stress more effectively. It helps you become more clear-headed in your day-to-day life.

Improve sleep

Less stress means better sleep! Think of it as a sleeping aid with no side effects. Without getting too scientific, when we masturbate we release a bunch of hormones that affect our mood. By letting those hormones go, we collect the ultimate ingredients required for a peaceful night’s sleep – relaxation, clarity and contentment.

Dr. Sarah Welsh, co-founder of HANX says: “During masturbation, the hormones released can have a massive impact on relaxing you and helping you sleep. Prolactin (the hormone that is released during orgasm) is released, and Cortisol (the stress hormone) is reduced which can help induce a relaxed state that leads to drowsiness and eventually slumber. For us girls, masturbation also boosts our oestrogen levels, heightening our REM stage, making our sleep deeper and our recuperation stronger.” 

Connect to your body

Touching yourself isn’t the only connection you have to your body while masturbating. The act of self-pleasure can be an enlightening experience into discovering yourself, your body and what you like to do with it. Paying attention to the sensations you feel during masturbation helps you build a stronger connection between your mind and body. This can promote self-awareness and self-acceptance – two components towards improving self-esteem…

Improve self-esteem

Masturbation allows you to take control of your own sexual pleasure and satisfaction. By experiencing pleasure on your own terms, you can feel more empowered and confident in your sexual identity and desires. This can help you feel more comfortable in your own body and help you like yourself more! This puts you in a good position to tackle whatever life throws at you.

Conquer pain  

To be clear, having a wank isn’t going to fix a broken leg. However, masturbating has been proven to relieve headaches, joint aches and even cramps.

So it’s win/win situation right?

Having some solo play is not only a pleasurable experience, but it also helps manage pain effectively. By releasing those hormones we spoke about earlier, masturbation can provide natural pain relief. It can also help with menstrual cramps by increasing the blood flow and easing the pressure off that throbbing headache.

Whichever way you decide to masturbate, just remember that it’s an entirely normal and very VERY common thing to do. Just because no one’s talking about it, it doesn’t mean they’re not doing it. There’s plenty of resources out there to learn more about healthy masturbation habits, including HANX’s Naked Truths blog series.

Useful resources

• The Mix tackles some common myths around masturbation in our article here.
• HANX provides sex-positive advice and sustainable products for the bedroom. A Beginner’s Guide To Mutual Masturbation explores how to introduce masturbation to a relationship.