Does Masturbation Cause Weight Loss?

Contents

• What Do the Studies Say?
• The Other Benefits that Make it Even Better
• Conclusion

What Do the Studies Say?

We won't keep you in suspense. Most studies that have been performed on the number of calories burned during sexual intercourse (not much research on masturbation) between partners do not show impressive numbers. No doubt traditional forms of exercise, like running on the treadmill, burn more calories during the same amount of time (on average, about 4.2 kcal/min burned by men during sexual intercourse as opposed to 9.2 kcal/min burned during exercising on a treadmill).

If we assumed that you worked out at the gym for about 30 minutes on a treadmill, that would mean approximately 276 calories burned. For the same amount of time having sexual intercourse with a partner, that would be approximately 126 calories burned. However, that assumes you actually took 30 minutes to ejaculate. If you actually took less time, say 10 minutes, you would have only burned 42 calories. Masturbation, as it may require fewer body parts in motion, may actually burn less. Based on these assumptions, masturbation probably burns fewer calories than partnered sex and much less than exercise, especially if only the hand is used. Sorry to break the bad news.

Sure, you could expend a few more calories depending on how vigorous a session you have, but the current conclusion is that masturbation does not cause significant weight loss. If you are thinking about using masturbation as a way to shed those unwanted pounds, you might be better off finding alternative, though less fun, ways.

The Other Benefits That Make It Even Better

You may be saying to yourself, "But wait, I always feel exhausted after I ejaculate. Surely, I must have burned a few calories. Or else why would I feel so tired afterwards?"

To feel relaxed and open to sleep after ejaculating is a natural response and probably not a result of overexerting yourself. After an orgasm, the body releases a cocktail of relaxation hormones, such as norepinephrine, serotonin, oxytocin, and vasopressin. The body also begins releasing melatonin and prolactin. Prolactin levels are high during sleep. Oxytocin and vasopressin, also released during orgasm, are associated with sleep as well. It's this sum total effect of the chemicals swimming around in your body. So if you want to get a better night’s rest, don’t reach for the sleeping pills, you already have a fully stocked pharmacy inside your body.

At this point you might be asking yourself if you should continue to masturbate for weight loss. And the answer is no, not for weight loss. However, masturbating does have its benefits and is a definite plus to any healthy routine. It may even help with controlling your weight indirectly. Yes, even though we just said that it does not cause weight loss, it may be able to help you suppress urges to stress eat, as we have discussed this in a TENGA blog in the past. And over the years, this could indirectly help with weight control and even prevent Type 2 diabetes. So while there may be no direct benefits to weight loss through masturbation, the indirect benefits are certainly worth looking into.

Conclusion

While we are definitely not saying that masturbation causes weight loss, it can help bring about a whole wave of good feelings, chemicals, and habits which may help in preventing some destructive habits from forming, habits that could be destructive to your health and could potentially send you down the path of bad health, even heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Because of that very point, it is definitely worth reading and learning more about how you could incorporate masturbation into a healthy lifestyle.