masturbation, stamina, premature-ejaculationA common belief held by many men is that if they masturbate shortly before sex, it will increase their ability to last longer during sex itself.
Is there any evidence to support or refute this belief? And if it is true, have any specifics been determined (such as the rate of reliability or the general percentage of stamina increase, the optimal amount of time before sex to maximize the effect, varying effectiveness with age, etc)?
There have been many studies on the effects of masturbation, but there’s also many biased studies, too (e.g. religions pushing their morals into the study). From the few articles I could find that seemed unbiased, there’s still a large list of pros and cons. Note that most studies are actually about the long-term effects of masturbation. Scientists and doctors tend to want to know more about what will happen in twenty years if do something now, so they can extend your life. I couldn’t find a single study that focused only on the short-term effects, so I’m going to compile what I found here.
Most people (including non-experts, sex therapists, doctors, etc) tend to agree that sufferers of premature ejaculation can try to masturbate before having sex, but that “normal” people, those that can go about five minutes after penetration, should avoid using this technique too frequently, because they would risk not being able to perform. There also was no consensus on the correct timing, which I assume indicates that the correct timing is actually dependent on the person with the problem.
Also, this technique cannot be considered “reliable.” Some people report less pleasurable sex, inability to perform, no effect, or even a decrease in performance time (e.g. makes premature ejaculation even worse). Several articles I scanned suggests that masturbation is one of several therapy options for those trying to increase their stamina, including thicker condoms to decrease sensitivity, and therapy (e.g. it may be their mental state causing the problem).
Strictly speaking, there’s no harm in trying occasionally, but someone trying to do so should experiment for the best results. It may be 30 minutes before an encounter, an hour, or longer, or may require multiple back-to-back orgasms to have the desired effect. There are inherent dangers with masturbating too much and/or having too much sex, so if the person is already quite active (multiple times per day), they should avoid masturbation on top of it, and should probably cut back a little bit. Conversely, if a person is having sex less than once a week, they should probably masturbate a least a couple times a week for health benefits.
In addition, there’s the matter of how it should be done. I’m not referring to a specific motion, but simply that the person should actively concentrate on not having an orgasm for as long as possible, otherwise they’re not doing their body a favor. A person certainly won’t learn to increase their stamina if all they do is work to achieve the fastest “quickie” they can. Time should be allocated before hand and they should work up to a nice, leisurely orgasm over several minutes, perhaps even as much as 30 minutes. Each session should focus on different motions, speeds, and so on to maximize stamina.
Note that most scientists agree that masturbation can provide a slew of long-term health benefits, including a healthier heart, lungs, muscles, memory, and emotional state (less depressed/sadness). One should consider the wide range of effects that one can benefit from just by masturbating once a week, but shouldn’t necessarily expect any performance gains simply by masturbating. Other factors that will improve performance include Kegel exercises, quitting smoking and/or drinking, eating a healthy balanced diet, etc.
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