Does Masturbation Help You Sleep Better?

Sleep disorders are becoming a prevalent health issue in today’s society, and several research are being conducted to examine their repercussions. Many causes have been implicated in the emergence of this disorder, including stress, various health issues, and so on.

People who have trouble sleeping frequently look for non-medical answers to their problem. Some of these methods involve masturbating before going to bed, which many believe has a sleep-inducing effect.

Is it true that masturbation can help with the quality of sleep?

Masturbation was shown to help with sleep quality in both men and women according to clinical trials and surveys. Stress is one of the major factors that often tends to alter sleep conditions. In this regard, it was reported by many individuals that masturbation can be a stress-relieving experience. Some changes in the body happen after orgasm including a drop of blood pressure over the course of about ten minutes, which may explain some of the feeling of relaxation and rest. Therefore, people who suffer from sleep disorders as a result of stressful life situations may find masturbating before going to bed beneficial in order to have a decent night’s sleep.

This hypnotic effect of masturbation was shown to be present in other species as well as in one study on animals, sexual activity was demonstrated to be followed by significant increases in sleep.

Is it true that masturbation can help with falling asleep faster?

Masturbation and the orgasm following it were both demonstrated to have soporific effects. Dr. Alfred Charles Kinsey, a popular American professor and sexologist, studied this relation between sleep and sexual activity and claimed that relaxation, quiescence of the body, sleepiness and sleep are considered as after effects of orgasm.

Masturbation is shown to improve sleep onset,  individuals judge their sleep latency after sexual activity as shorter relative to nights without masturbation, in other words, after masturbation individuals tend to fall asleep faster and easier.

Does orgasm and gender have an influence on masturbation’s effect on sleep?

Some investigations studied the impact orgasm has on sleep by comparing results after masturbation with orgasm versus masturbation without orgasm. On the one hand, masturbation with orgasm was perceived to reduce sleep latency while increasing sleep quality as mentioned above. While on the other hand, masturbation without orgasm had different consequences on sleep depending on the gender of the studied group:  in men, this resulted in negative effects including longer sleep latency and decreased sleep quality. While in women it was equivocal, it had no effect on sleep onset latency and no effect on sleep quality. Overall, it was reposted that the lack of orgasm following sexual activity is more frustrating for men than for women.

How does masturbation help with sleep?

The exact mechanism underlying the soporific effect of masturbation and orgasm has been established to be traceable to the release of neurohormones such as oxytocin, prolactin, and endorphins that are known to have relaxing properties, as well as the inhibition of cortisol secretion in the body. The exact action of these hormones on sleep can be explained:

• Prolactin: This hormone released following orgasm is heavily involved in feeling sleepy. It is associated with both quality of orgasm and sexual satisfaction and was shown to be involved in the induction of Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep which is an important stage of the sleep cycle that has a big influence on sleep quality.
• Oxytocin: Oxytocin has been associated with a better quality of life, a reduction in stress and an improved sleep quality in individuals.
• Cortisol: also known as the stress hormone. It has a significant role in the process of sleeping. In fact, high levels of cortisol are associated with a bad sleeping quality (discontinued sleep). Therefore, the inhibition of cortisol secretion as a result of orgasm can help decrease the interruptions in sleep and hence enhances the sleep quality of the individual.
• Endorphins: Some of these hormones were shown to have an impact on sleep, actually, their increased levels were linked to better sleep quality and length.

References:

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