How often is too often to masturbate?

Just petting the cat before going to sleep and then leaving for dreamland completely relaxed: how nice is that? Do you ever wonder if you do it too often? How often is ‘too often’ according to sex experts? LotteLust investigated it thoroughly.

Solo sex is healthy
Regularly masturbating and orgasming has several health benefits, but we might not need to tell you that. You probably notice for yourself that you escape from it, experience better sleep, and feel happier. What you might not realize so quickly is that it’s good training for your muscles down under and reduces the risk of heart and vascular diseases.

And no worries: it’s perfectly fine to do it if you’re in a relationship. Just read why!

Too much is harmful?
But you know what they say: too much is harmful. Does that also apply to self-pleasure? Say it isn’t so… *fingers crossed*

Good news! According to sex therapist Kat Van Kirk, you can decide how often you masturbate: ‘There’s no downside to masturbating. Generally, there are women who masturbate daily and women who masturbate once a month. For some, zero times is normal. It doesn’t mean you’re more or less sexual.’

Check out more myths about masturbating (that you might still believe).

Compulsive
There is a ‘but’ in Van Kirk’s story. Very frequent solo sex becomes unhealthy for your mental health if it affects your daily life, for example when you often arrive late because you have to masturbate or when you prefer not to have your partner satisfy you because you can do it better. ‘Some people use masturbation as a way to escape reality,’ Van Kirk explains, ‘so they can focus on their fantasies. In some cases, this can lead to emotional and sexual isolation from your partner.’

Pain = oh
It can also become an unhealthy habit if you do it so often that you end up with a painful vagina. Take Hannah from the series Girls, who had to masturbate eight times a day due to her obsessive-compulsive disorder. That will hurt after a while. It can cause chafing that can then get infected. No thanks…

Switch it up!
Finally, Van Kirk gives an important piece of advice: ‘If you always masturbate in the same way, your body can get used to it and then only get aroused and climax in this way.’ That sounds like quite a challenge for your – future – bed partner(s).

If you want to experiment more with masturbating more, check out our guide for the female orgasm ‘Are you coming too?’. There are 13 (!) types of orgasms to try. Not all at once, okay!