Masturbation, testosterone and male power: Does abstinence really make you a better man?
Testosterone has become almost a magic word in recent years. Someone inflects it at the gym, another at the morning ice shower, another in discussions about "male energy", discipline and sexual performance. And then there's the advice that regularly returns to social media, podcasts and motivational forums - don't masturbate. It's said to make your testosterone rise, make you more focused, stronger, more confident, more attractive, and maybe finally unlock your own "superversion."
Sounds seductive. Especially in a time when the human body has become a project to optimize and every habit can be measured, hacked, improved, or at least wrapped into a 30-day challenge. But the question isn't just whether sexual abstinence can make a difference in the short term. Much more interesting is another: are the potential benefits worth giving up something that can be perfectly normal and in many ways healthy for the body, psyche and sex life?
The answer is less viral than internet promises, but all the more important - masturbation is not the enemy of testosterone. And abstinence alone won't make anyone a hormone god.
Testosterone is not a coin you lose during orgasm
One of the most persistent ideas is that ejaculation "depletes" a man's strength. The modern version of this myth no longer talks about blindness, weakness or moral ruin, but about testosterone, dopamine, performance and discipline. The language has changed, the anxiety has remained similar - what if a man is taking something away by masturbating?
But the body simply doesn't work that way. Testosterone isn't produced as an energy reserve that a man releases at orgasm and then has to save for a week. Testosterone levels naturally fluctuate throughout the day, being highest in the morning and lowest in the evening. It is affected by age, sleep, nutrition, illness, certain medications, the condition of the testes, pituitary gland or brain, and overall health.
Even frequent masturbation or sex does not cause hypogonadism, i.e. low testosterone, and does not have a long-term negative effect on testosterone levels. Sexual activity can mess with testosterone in the short term, but after orgasm, levels return to normal values.
The famous seventh day? The problem is, the internet has cherry-picked science to suit its own purposes.
Much of the online belief in so-called "semen retention," or ejaculation withholding, rests on the notion that after seven days without ejaculation, there will be a significant increase in testosterone. This claim relies mainly on an older small study that reported a significant testosterone peak on the seventh day of abstinence. Only that particular paper was retracted in 2021.
This doesn't mean that nothing is happening around sexual activity and hormones. But it does mean that you can't make a universal rule of life out of one problematic and small study. Moreover, testosterone is not the only thing that determines whether a man is vital, attractive, psychologically stable or sexually satisfied. Reducing masculinity to one hormone is as misleading as reducing a relationship to the number of messages on WhatsApp.
But in an online environment, simple slogans sell better than nuance. "Don't masturbate and you'll have a slightly more variable hormonal profile whose practical significance is unclear" is simply not as catchy as "seven days without an orgasm and you'll become an alpha male".
What abstinence can really bring
But it would be equally simplistic to say that abstinence can't be meaningful to anyone. It can. Just mostly for different reasons than the testosterone myths promise.
If a man masturbates compulsively, spends hours in porn, uses masturbation as his only escape from stress, anxiety, or loneliness, or neglects work, relationships, or regular life because of it, a short-term break can be a useful reset. Not because the testicles suddenly kick into premium hormone mode, but because the man gains distance from a habit that no longer serves him.
The Mayo Clinic describes compulsive sexual behavior as a situation in which sexual fantasies, urges, or behaviors become difficult to control, cause distress, and interfere with health, work, relationships, or other areas of life. Masturbation is not a problem in itself; it only becomes a problem when a person loses control or continues despite negative consequences.
Therefore, for some, "I don't masturbate for a month" may be similar to "I don't drink alcohol in January". Not necessarily a lifelong diagnosis, more of an experiment: why do I reach for it, when do I reach for it, what am I replacing with it, and how do I feel without it? In this form, abstinence can serve as a tool for self-discovery. It just shouldn't become another form of shame.
What about the prostate? Well, abstinence doesn't exactly look like a winner here.
One of the most frequently cited health arguments in favor of regular ejaculation is the relationship to prostate cancer risk. Harvard Health recalls data from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study where men who reported 21 or more ejaculations per month had a 31% lower risk of prostate cancer compared to men with 4 to 7 ejaculations per month. Ejaculations included sex, nocturnal intercourse and masturbation.
But there is an important point to add - studies like this show a link, not a simple "masturbate exactly that many times and you'll avoid cancer" prescription. Prostate cancer has many factors, including genetics, age and lifestyle. Still, it is an interesting signal that minimally complicates the story for abstinence dogmatists. If someone claims that frequent ejaculation destroys the male body, the prostate data doesn't really fit.
When discipline becomes another shame
The biggest problem with abstinence trends may not lie in abstinence itself. It lies in the narrative that often arises around it. In it, masturbation turns into proof of weakness, orgasm into defeat, and sexuality into the enemy of productivity. One does not then observe whether a habit is actually beneficial, but whether one has been "strong" enough to resist one's own body.
This is treacherous. Especially for people who already carry shame around sexuality. When a gay or bi man has grown up feeling like his desire is "different", "wrong" or "too much", the language of self-control can come down harder on him. And abstinence culture may just give him a new vocabulary for old guilt.
But healthy sexuality is not a flawless discipline. It is the ability to be aware of one's own body, desire, boundaries, relationships, and context. Sometimes healthy can look like masturbating regularly and without regret. Other times, it may be that he takes a break from porn because he feels it is no longer doing him good. And other times, by addressing with a therapist or sexologist why sexual behavior has become an escape that can no longer be managed.
The bottom line? Orgasm is not the enemy of masculinity
The notion that a man's strength grows in proportion to the number of days he doesn't ejaculate is appealing mainly because it offers a simple guide in a complex world. Just don't do one thing and everything gets better. But the body is not an internet challenge, and sexuality is not a disorder that needs to be fixed all the time.
Abstinence can be a useful experiment. It can help people who want to change their relationship with porn, gain more impulse control, or better notice when they're using sex as a band-aid for something else. But as a universal path to higher testosterone, better health, and stronger masculinity, it stands on pretty shaky legs.
Masturbation, on the other hand, remains a safe, normal and potentially beneficial part of life for most men. It doesn't solve all problems. It doesn't replace relationships, therapy, sleep, exercise, or doctors. But it also doesn't drain a man of testosterone, character or dignity.
