men's power

Man Takes Up ‘No Masturbation For 400 Days Challenge’ & Here’s What It Did To His Body

Do you remember the longest time you've gone without masturbating? Maybe it's time to think about it now.

Masturbating is natural and is even extremely healthy according to a lot of studies. But, it turns out that there is also a movement that promotes the benefits of abstaining from masturbation for long periods of time.

It became popular on Reddit after a thread linked this movement to a Chinese study which basically claimed that not masturbating could raise your testosterone by 45 percent.

Well, that sounds incredible, doesn't it?

Taking up this challenge (No masturbate for 400 days challenge), Luke Eilers decided to see how long he could hold off on 'touching himself'. The movement to quit pornography or masturbation is appropriately called 'rebooting' or 'porn-recovery' and the biggest thing that motivated Luke was the realization that he was addicted to porn.

He admitted that he felt a lot of shame when he finished watching some racy adult videos. Moreover, he also realized that he suffered from a lack of motivation, focus and productivity.

What Happens if You Don't Masturbate

Talking about this with fellow YouTuber Andrew Hales, Luke explains how he feels since he started his journey: “The way I would describe it is I kind of just feel like 10 percent better in loads of areas like motivation, confidence, energy, mental clarity. Lots of people talk about superpowers and it completely changes their life; every once in a while, I would get spurts of that.”

But only 10% in more than a year? Maybe next time he can abstain for like 4,000 days to complete the 100%.

Luke also made sure to clarify that even though he didn't 'pleasure himself', he still had sex and even looked at porn, but strictly no masturbation. Apparently, as long as you're ejaculating with a partner then that's considered 'healthy'.

He also mentioned that he had discovered a new kind of sex where both the people get down and dirty really slowly for more than an hour, but never actually complete the act. He hasn't tried that yet, but he's very interested to find out how it works.

But, one of the best things that came out of his 'no fap' experiment was that because of these behavioural and physiological changes, Luke has taken it upon himself to go into amateur therapy via Skype in order to help out guys who are struggling with porn addiction, depression, social anxiety or who just want to talk about women.

Such a noble thing to do.

Andrew, the guy who interviewed Luke, also saw some changes in himself after trying out the 'No Fap Movement' for just 9 days. Wow, this thing works quickly.

Male Masturbation: 5 Things You Didn't Know

If there's one thing that almost every guy is an expert at, it's masturbation. After years of extensive, hands-on experience, you think you know everything there is to know. But according to the experts, maybe you don't. Here are some that may surprise you.

1. Masturbation doesn't have the health benefits that sex does.

"It appears that not all orgasms are created equally," says Tobias S. Köhler, MD, MPH, an associate professor at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield.

Study after study shows that intercourse has all sorts of benefits for men -- for your blood pressure, heart and prostate health, pain, and more. You'd think that masturbation would, too. But it doesn't.

Why would it make a difference whether you ejaculate during sex or on your own? No one's sure. But your body seems to respond differently. Even the makeup of semen is different if you masturbate instead of having sex.

Still, does it really matter? Have you honestly been masturbating all these years only because you wanted to boost your prostate health? Didn't think so. But one study, Harvard’s Health Professional Followup, showed that Masturbation may help lower risk of prostate cancer.

2. Masturbation is not risk-free.

Sure, it's low-risk. It's the safest form of sex possible. No one ever caught an STD from themselves or made themselves pregnant. But like other low-risk activities (chewing, walking), it still has some risks.

Frequent or rough masturbation can cause minor skin irritation. Forcefully bending an erect penis can rupture the chambers that fill with blood, a rare but gruesome condition called penile fracture.

Köhler has seen guys with it after vigorous masturbation. "Afterward, the penis looks like an eggplant," he says. "It's purple and swollen." Most men need surgery to repair it.

3. There's no "normal" amount of masturbation.

Guys can get hung up on whether they masturbate too much. But it's not how many times you masturbate in a week (or day) that really matters, says Logan Levkoff, PhD, a sexologist and sex educator. It's how it fits into your life.

If you masturbate many times a day and have a healthy, satisfying life, good for you. But if you masturbate many times a day and you're missing work or giving up on sex with your partner because of it, consider seeing a sex therapist.

Even then, there's nothing specific about masturbation that's the problem. Compulsive masturbation is like any behavior that disrupts your life -- whether it's compulsively playing poker or checking your social media every other minute.

4. Masturbating doesn't reflect on your relationship.

Levkoff says the most damaging myth about male masturbation is that it's a sign something is wrong in your relationship.

The fact is that most guys masturbate. They masturbate if they're single, in a bad relationship, or in a great relationship. It's just something they do that has nothing to do with their partners.

Masturbation isn't only about sex, Levkoff says. For many, it's a routine way of relieving stress, clearing your head before work, or going to sleep.

5. Masturbation is almost certainly good for your sex life.

Masturbation can help your sex life, since it's how guys learn what they like during sex. "I think women would be more satisfied sexually in their relationships if they masturbated as much as men do," Levkoff says.

Are there exceptions? Some guys do get so hooked on a certain amount of pressure during masturbation or the stimulation of porn that they can't perform with a partner, says Ian Kerner, PhD, a sex therapist and author of She Comes First.

Still, Kerner says those guys are the exception. "For the vast majority of men, masturbation is a healthy thing," he says. "I'm usually more concerned about a guy who's stopped masturbating -- which can be a sign of anxiety or health problems -- than a guy who's doing it regularly."

How often men masturbate

Some men masturbate weekly, some men masturbate daily, some masturbate a few times a month, and still others hardly masturbate at all. All of these masturbation frequencies are considered within the normal range for men.

Here's how often men between ages 25 and 29 masturbate, according to 2009 data from the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior, as collected by FiveThirtyEight:

17% had not masturbated in the past year

15% masturbate a few times per year to monthly

25% masturbate a few times per month to weekly

23% masturbate 2 to 3 times per week

20% masturbate more than 4 times per week

How often men masturbate

Some men masturbate weekly, some men masturbate daily, some masturbate a few times a month, and still others hardly masturbate at all. All of these masturbation frequencies are considered within the normal range for men.

Here's how often men between ages 25 and 29 masturbate, according to 2009 data from the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior, as collected by FiveThirtyEight:

17% had not masturbated in the past year

15% masturbate a few times per year to monthly

25% masturbate a few times per month to weekly

23% masturbate 2 to 3 times per week

20% masturbate more than 4 times per week

In comparison, a 2008 study1 of British people between ages 16 and 44 found 73% of men had masturbated in the past four weeks, compared to 37% of women. (Here's our guide to how often women should masturbate, for reference.)

"There is a ton of variation in how much people masturbate, and it fluctuates throughout our lives due to things like health, stress, schedule, desire, partnerships with others, and so forth," sex and relationship therapist Shadeen Francis, LMFT, tells mbg.

RELATED: How To Masturbate: 25 Tips & Tricks From A Sex Therapist

How often you should masturbate

"There is no set standard for frequency of masturbation," board-certified urologist Jamin Brahmbhatt, M.D., tells mbg. "Daily, weekly, monthly...it's personal preference."

Masturbation is a common and very low-risk habit, and in fact, masturbation comes with many health benefits. In general, people should masturbate as often as it feels good for them. "You should masturbate whenever you want to and have the time and privacy to do so," Francis says. "Pleasure is healthy."

A 2016 study found men who ejaculate 21 times a month or more were significantly less likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, compared to people who ejaculated four to seven times per month. That isn't to say everyone must masturbate that often; it's just a signal that regular masturbation can be beneficial to overall health.