Masturbation is a common sexual activity for men and is a natural and safe way to explore the body, feel pleasure, and release sexual tension. However, masturbation actually carries some harmful side effects, especially if it is excessively frequent. Is it right can masturbation cause memory loss?
Can Masturbation Cause Memory Loss
The stressful environment caused by long-term sexual exhaustion and excessive masturbation can lead to inflammation of the nervous system along with the accumulation of non-antioxidant proteins that cause brain cell destruction.
The hippocampus, the part of the brain that controls long-term memory, also suffers from this damage. According to researcher Robert M. Sapolsky in his book Why Stress Is Bad for Your Brain , glucocorticoids in the body initiate damage to the hippocampus during excessive masturbation.
Meanwhile, every time a man masturbates, he loses vital chemicals that are also involved with concentration and memory. Hence, men who masturbate more frequently have lower levels of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that lowers the heart rate and acts as an “exciting” chemical in the central nervous system. With low levels of acetylcholine, a man experiences memory gaps, causing forgetfulness. Hence, men with Alzheimer’s disease often appear to have lower levels of acetylcholine in the central nervous system.
Also Read : Does Female Masturbation Affect Virginity?
Tips for healthy Masturbation:
To avoid the problem of forgetfulness due to excessive masturbation, it is necessary to follow the following tips:
Reducing exposure to pornography
There are some sexual stimuli that can stimulate sexual desire, such as pornographic pictures and videos. So removing these elements can significantly reduce unintended arousal, leading to a decrease in the desire to masturbate.
Find some new hobbies
To reduce excessive masturbation cause memory loss, it is necessary to find some hobbies or sports that fill the time and reduce thinking about sexual matters. From here, writing, drawing, dancing, horse riding and others are important options to reduce masturbation.
Not abstaining from it completely
Masturbation has many health benefits, so you should never refrain from practicing it. A few times of masturbation is very beneficial and does not raise the alarm regarding forgetfulness and mental disorders. So, when a man feels that he is masturbating excessively, he should reduce the number of times from 5 for example to twice per week.
People are divided into two groups about the effect of masturbation on the brain, the first team believes that it poses a great danger to the brain, while the second group believes that it is beneficial for mental health.
In the following report, The Consulto reviews the effect of masturbation on the brain, according to Healthline and Medicalnewstoday.
The Benefits of Masturbation for the Brain
1- Masturbation plays a major role in stimulating the brain to secrete many important hormones, which are:
Dopamine: Helps to feel happy.
– Endorphins: a natural pain reliever for the body and contributes to improving mood.
Testosterone: The male sex hormone that enhances sexual ability in men and maintains an erection during sexual intercourse.
Prolactin: works to strengthen the immune system.
2- Masturbation has a positive effect on memory, as a 2016 study found that sexual activity contributed to increased recall and sequence of numbers in people between the ages of 50 and 89.
3- A 2015 study showed that when masturbating , the brain secretes the hormone oxytocin, which in turn contributes to relieving stress and anxiety, by lowering blood pressure and reducing cortisol levels in the body.
4- People who regularly masturbate are less likely to suffer from insomnia at night, because the hormones secreted by the brain during exercise, such as oxytocin and endorphins, contribute to improving sleep quality and reducing the time it takes to indulge in it, according to a 2019 study.
5- A 2013 study revealed that sexual activities, including masturbation, help relieve migraines and cluster headaches.
The Effects of masturbation on the Brain
Addiction to masturbation is one of the most prominent negative effects it causes on brain health, although the American Psychological Association does not classify this problem as a mental condition, but rather includes it in the list of mental disorders under the name of compulsive sexual behavior.
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– Masturbation may cause severe mood swings, if its practice makes a person feel guilty or makes him unable to enjoy intimacy.
Myths about masturbation
There is no doubt that masturbation is one of the wrong practices that must be abandoned, but it is associated in the minds of some people with a group of myths, which they treat as a fact confirmed.
1- Marriage prohibits masturbation
It is believed that sexual intercourse after marriage may replace masturbation, and this is not true, as some studies have shown that intimacy may not be sufficient to satisfy the sexual needs of some married people, due to the difference in sex drive from one person to another.
Another study showed that women who masturbated had happier marriages.
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2- Masturbation causes erectile dysfunction
It is rumored among men that practicing masturbation may increase the risk of developing erectile dysfunction, and this was denied by some andrologists, pointing out that this is a myth, and there is no scientific evidence to prove its validity.
3- Masturbation has no benefits
Some studies revealed that practicing masturbation provides many public health benefits, most notably:
- Enhance the ability to sleep.
- Resist feeling stressed.
- Relieving headache.
- Improve focus.
- Reducing the feeling of pain during intimacy.
- Prevention of vaginal dryness.
- Increase physical fitness.
In a study conducted on 800 adolescents, between the ages of 14 and 17, whose results were published in the journal “JAMA Pediatrics”, the researchers did not detect any problems resulting from their practice of masturbation.
4- Masturbation leads to blindness
Masturbation does not cause blindness as some believe, as there are no studies or research confirming that it has a negative effect on eye health, which may lead to loss of vision.
5- Masturbation prevents prostate cancer
While some studies confirm that masturbation protects men from prostate cancer, there are other studies that conclude that it increases the risk of exposure to this malignant disease.
Therefore, some researchers believe that more studies must be conducted in this regard, to determine the effect of masturbation on prostate health.
6- Masturbation leads to shrinkage of the genitals
It is very unlikely that masturbation in both men and women will cause the genitals to shrink, but doing it with sex toys can cause inflammation of the penis and vagina.
