Benefits and Drawbacks of Sexual Abstinence

[Human 5067890284]

Thanks for posing the question Proteus, I also was interested in this topic.

 

Firstly, after fairly thorough searching, I have found no scientific papers that offer a comprehensive and objective conclusion to all the effects of abstinence. So I can only say from personal experience of extended periods of sexual abstinence (including abstaining from self-masturbation) that I have noticed the following changes from the sexually active times in my life:

 

Positive -

1) Increased strength - I noticed that I had much more stamina and retained more muscle bulk when doing roughly the same amount of exercise relative to sexually active periods. I reckon this loosely supports the hypothesis of increased testosterone during abstinence.

 

2) Increased energy - Felt much less tired in general.

 

3) Less emotional - I seemed to naturally adopt a more stoic attitude to life when not involved in sexual activity. Most likely due to lack of interaction with a romantic/sexual partner.

 

4) Increased creativity - I generally experienced more outside the box ideas WRT work, more elaborate jokes in social situations, heightened imagination, increased musical improvisation ability etc...

 

Neutral -

1) Libido change - After a few days and weeks of abstinence I found my libido to be ever increasing. However after a scale of months and even years of this, my libido reduced significantly.

 

Negative -

 

1) Increased energy coupled with increasing libido and no sexual partner initially led me to have aggressive thoughts and occasionally behave in a more aggressive or argumentative manner. After a few months, this subsided. A fading of sexual frustration in tandem with a fading libido if you will. After years of no sex, my state of mind was even calmer than during sexually active periods.

 

2) Lack of sexual pleasure. Seems obvious, but when not distracted with other pleasurable activities this could sometimes reduce morale.

 

I'm not a medical or biology expert so cannot say if any of the more 'mental' changes were driven directly by hormone changes associated with abstinence or if more subtle psychological factors were at play. Indeed other variables may have been responsible for the above differences with or without abstinence having a role. If you know more about this though, it would be great to hear from you.

Presumably changes in the above factors (and others mentioned in this thread) will vary from person to person and probably between genders. It seems there is still a gap in research here, though it would appear unlikely that there are any seriously negative consequences to chastity, especially physically speaking. Perhaps the repercussions are more subtle and psychological, thus making an isolated study all the more difficult.

Thanks for reading.

Edited November 13, 2014 by Human 5067890284

[MonDie]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSF82AwSDiU

 

Hmmmmmm guess there was more to it than alot of the skeptics thought...my personal thoughts on this is even though an idea is old and spoke in old timey riddle language that might not make sense under today's terms its validity is worth contemplating.

 

Not quite the subject of the thread.

 

Like most TED talks, that was very very simplistic. The guys who are giving up porn obviously aren't the same as an randomly assigned experimental group, so researchers will either do a regression analysis or control for potential confounds. He seems to have forgotten to mention that. And of course a quitting addict is going from one extreme to another without ever crossing the middleground. In contrast, it's also argued that porn availability reduced the rape rate. I guess rape isn't unhealthy for the perpetrator...

 

Internet addiction sounds intrigueing.

Coincidentally, I won't be back back until December 19th... but I get 5 mercy posts.

Edited November 15, 2014 by MonDie

[shermination]

OP, I strongly share your desire to find objective truth on this issue. And like you, I have sifted through much of the available literature to look for answers. Truth is, there just isn't any substantial research on the effects of masturbation. This is, to my suspicion, due to the leftist nature of academia to not go against the current liberal culture of free sexual expression.

 

Sexual release induces sedative-like effects for the individual. Its endorphin inducing mechanism could be looked at as small doses of heroin as both of these chemicals work on opiates. Though subtle in the short term, its effects could be powerful in the long. Why are heroin addicts losers? They do nothing but shoot heroin. They are satisfied with doing nothing. So logically it follows that those who masturbate are satisfied with doing less than those who don't. Masturbation rewards doing nothing. The same opiate high could be found through exercise instead of masturbation-a much healthier and rewarding habit. Sometimes to achieve greatness, the first things one must do is to abstain from deleterious behavior.

 

When objective answers are not available, it doesn't hurt to have subjective ones. And abstinence has given me much energy but also much strain on my body. I hope that the psychosomatic issues that you are facing are relieved-it has been two years since your original posting.

 

Please send me a message when you see this, I'd like to talk to you more about this topic. If it leads to a betterment of one's higher faculties, then the sacrifice of lower desires is all-too-appropriate.

 

Cheers.

 

Hi Miser, thank you for your views on this topic. I reckon you are vindicated by an increasing number of people experiencing the benefits of abstinence:

Science or not, a little less sugar, porn, cocaine and other forms of instant gratification rampant in our modern society should be a good thing. People shouldn't get beat up for having the courage to state as such just because it might not meet the scientific method (the most rigid experimental method ever). Come on, 10 v 1? Call the bully patrol. No thanks to you modsturbator...I mean moderator. Stick up for the little guy, who by the way is much more likely to achieve great things than the crowd of dopamine sedated people in this forum, whether you're all aware / are able to admit it.

 

Miser, would be great to connect with you for future discussion cheers!

[koti]

 

Hi Miser, thank you for your views on this topic. I reckon you are vindicated by an increasing number of people experiencing the benefits of abstinence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oM6wDxaXI0 Science or not, a little less sugar, porn, cocaine and other forms of instant gratification rampant in our modern society should be a good thing. People shouldn't get beat up for having the courage to state as such just because it might not meet the scientific method (the most rigid experimental method ever). Come on, 10 v 1? Call the bully patrol. No thanks to you modsturbator...I mean moderator. Stick up for the little guy, who by the way is much more likely to achieve great things than the crowd of dopamine sedated people in this forum, whether you're all aware / are able to admit it.

 

Miser, would be great to connect with you for future discussion cheers!

What about physical workout which floods you with dopamine too, would you think that be a good thing or a no no? How about feelings of love and happiness which flood your brain with all kinds of "natural drugs"? What about having sex with your partner or hugging your child, these things flood you with dopamine too, should that be allowed? It sounds like youre saying that a natural high is a bad thing and that masturbation and cocaine are equally evil. The latter is as ridiculous as it gets.

Masturbation is a natural function of all primates including homo sapiens. It is as natural as breathing, eating or sleeping. Depriving yourself of sexual activity for long periods of time (years) will have bad influence on you both mentally and physically. Sexual activity is a vital part of any human beings life and it brings balance both mentally and hormonally.

Edited July 12, 2017 by koti

[DrP]

The thing is (imo) - any course of action or abstinence from any habit to focus on some other part of your life which you deem to be more important could help you focus on your goal better. It doesn't mean that the thing you gave up was bad. You have just focused your attention on some other goal. If your goal is to get off sexually then masturbation is cool. If you goal is to go out and succeed at a particular sport then there are all kinds of mental tricks you can pull.... it's like superstition. The fact that someone like Tiger Woods might put his left sock on first works for him like Dumbo's feather. Most boxers abstain from sex weeks before a fight (or they used too).. I think this was proven to be a wives tale (no time to look it up) but it may have helped them mentally - a bit like a placebo.

 

I might try a feather next time, like Dumbo, when I want to 'fly'*, rather than abstaining from sex to see if that works.

 

* - the word 'fly' here could be replaced with any of your goals, like getting a girlfriend, succeeding at work or at a sport or in a life situation... literally anything that you think you will get a benefit from by abstaining from sex/masturbation will probably be benefitted the same way through any other superstition in the same way as any placebo works. (this is speculation but seems feasible - if people report benefits were science denies that there should be benefits then maybe the placebo effect is at work?).

[koti]

The thing is (imo) - any course of action or abstinence from any habit to focus on some other part of your life which you deem to be more important could help you focus on your goal better. It doesn't mean that the thing you gave up was bad. You have just focused your attention on some other goal. If your goal is to get off sexually then masturbation is cool. If you goal is to go out and succeed at a particular sport then there are all kinds of mental tricks you can pull.... it's like superstition. The fact that someone like Tiger Woods might put his left sock on first works for him like Dumbo's feather. Most boxers abstain from sex weeks before a fight (or they used too).. I think this was proven to be a wives tale (no time to look it up) but it may have helped them mentally - a bit like a placebo.

 

I might try a feather next time, like Dumbo, when I want to 'fly'*, rather than abstaining from sex to see if that works.

 

* - the word 'fly' here could be replaced with any of your goals, like getting a girlfriend, succeeding at work or at a sport or in a life situation... literally anything that you think you will get a benefit from by abstaining from sex/masturbation will probably be benefitted the same way through any other superstition in the same way as any placebo works. (this is speculation but seems feasible - if people report benefits were science denies that there should be benefits then maybe the placebo effect is at work?).

Youre talking about social aspects of sexual abstination - study instead of chasing girls, etc and ofcourse I agree to a point with your point. What Im saying is that from the biological point of view it is beneficial if not crucial for a human to engage in sexual activity may it be sex with a partner or masturbation. There are countless studies concluding that long periods of sexual abstination are bad for you and engaging in healthy sexual activity is beneficial. I think I read a study a few years ago that cancer risk in men is higher for individuals who do not ejaculate for long periods of time. Im no expert on biology but frankly, it seems obvious that tampering with a basic function of a species for prolonged periods of time must have some kind of an adverse effect.

[DrP]

I agree with you Koti. 'Their' claims of abstinence giving you more 'energy' for your life could be psychological, that's all I am saying, like a placebo or a superstition. But.., to play advocate for a second , there might be something to be said if someone who eats a crappy diet, lounges around a lot, doesn't go out and knocks one out 7 or 8 times a day, for them to cut back and abstain for a day or 2 to get some energy back and have time to think about other life issues, get off their asses or backs and cook themselves some decent food. Maybe, when they make these generalisations about people holding back they would be better off targeting the addicts. Many good things done to excess are bad.

[koti]

I agree with you Koti. 'Their' claims of abstinence giving you more 'energy' for your life could be psychological, that's all I am saying, like a placebo or a superstition. But.., to play advocate for a second , there might be something to be said if someone who eats a crappy diet, lounges around a lot, doesn't go out and knocks one out 7 or 8 times a day, for them to cut back and abstain for a day or 2 to get some energy back and have time to think about other life issues, get off their asses or backs and cook themselves some decent food. Maybe, when they make these generalisations about people holding back they would be better off targeting the addicts. Many good things done to excess are bad.

Dude, stop talking about me in such detail, its creepy

[abnormalsheep]

Hi,

This subject has been a curiosity to me for quite some time. Even more curious, is the lack of curiosity & research about the subject.

I have little background in science beyond an interest and determined attempts to apply a kind of systematic method of interpretation to my personal perceptions. It is my lament that most musings will only ever be anecdotal.

Anyway. The subject came up again tonight, and as usual, it was first received with an open kind of jovial reaction, and then as usual, became a demand of proof before any serious consideration is given.

I do give perhaps too much benefit of the doubt to ancient practices, particularly of the Tao. Many practices are meeting validation and I'm pretty sure this particular point will inevitably receive its own validation in due time.

It seems, that Miser was also inspired by Taoist suggestion and has since attempted to research any truth within the claims. 

Taoists actually encouraged regular intercourse and even intermittent ejaculation. Therefore, it is never entirely stated that ejaculation is a bad thing. (I noticed a bit of defensiveness regarding that in the thread)

What hasn't been mentioned, and may be relevant in any subsequent studies, is that to thoroughly gain the benefit of retention, there must be the same level of stimulation and arousal - ie, reaching the point of ejaculation and refraining. Of course there is a technique to redistributing all that "energy" elsewhere and must be practiced with caution. The point being, on this basis, it might be easier to conduct comparable studies.

So there could be one group who masturbate ejaculating normally, and another who masturbate without ejaculating, measuring their cognitive, emotional and physiological reactions. This could be continued over a matter of days, weeks or months and I'm sure a positive distinction would emerge. 

How hard is it to conduct studies like these? Even a simple urine or blood test may give illuminating results.

There could be preliminary measures, such as fasting, or choosing people of similar stature and lifestyle. Any suggestions of narrowing variables?

I am quite tired of "feeling" convinced that if men masturbated less, we would see so many benefits within themselves and society. It feels a bit like how I'd imagine a mother feels trying to get her kids to eat greens.

Is there no way to substantiate all the ancedotal reviews? Arrange them so that particular variables are accounted for? It could be that retainers were ex porn-addicts, or they could be people that hardly masturbated or had sex generally, and was exploring a more focused practiced.

I feel like clarifying again, that the practice of retention isn't to say that ejaculation is bad - it indeed has its benefits, but I think in this case, less is indeed more. There are actually prescriptions in Taoist texts, that young spritely men can ejaculate once or twice a week, and older men once or twice a month, and elderly men every few months. And to clarify again, it doesn't mean "no sex". Quite the contrary.

Any feedback on proceeding with acceptable scientific method would be appreciated. Why it hasn't already been researched explicitly in regards to improving mens wellbeing and health seems bizarre. I'm fed up of the arguments personally. 

Whilst there are no studies, all the ancedotal reference and suggestion, dating back thousands of years, seems too intriguing to ignore.

People on the thread mention evolution a lot. Perhaps the reemergence of this practice is evolutionary in itself, albeit regurgitated, to be processed more thoroughly than it ever has.

As much as masturbating to ejaculate is a quick fix for dopamine etc, masturbating without ejaculating is a parallel quick fix for the hypothetical heightened, well, everything. How can we as a species, not be curious about that??

Excuse my writing abilities. Please be kind in picking at my words. The main point, is how can we proceed in proving or disproving this? How to create the data and research that is lacking, since it is apparently firmly established that there isn't any; with a scientific standard.

This is why I joined the forum, for some suggestion. (And to clarify the Taoist angle a bit I suppose!)