What Happens When Men Masturbate Before Having Sex (And Why It Could Be Beneficial)

Masturbation is a very normal part of sexual development for most people. It's a way to know and understand your body. What turns you on? How do you like to be touched or stimulated? How do you best reach an orgasm? Such questions are often explored via self-pleasure. In addition to this, masturbation is also known to help you sleep better, reduce stress, and boost the flow of feel-good chemicals (endorphins) in your system. 

Turning to masturbation in an effort to avoid one of the weird things that can happen to men during sex is not uncommon. We're referring to premature ejaculation. Perhaps you've wondered if pleasuring yourself and having that release a few hours before actually having sex with a partner can in some way improve your sexual performance. 

While there are no scientific studies to support this theory, sexual health experts do think that it could help some men. There could be both a psychological and a physiological benefit. Firstly, getting that sense of release before actually engaging in partnered activity can ease some of the tension surrounding sex, especially if it's been a while since your last sexual encounter. Premature ejaculation or ejaculating before you want to do so can be related to your mental state. "Oftentimes, stress and anxiety are common culprits when it comes to premature ejaculation," explained Dr. Neel Parekh, a men's fertility and sexual health specialist with Cleveland Clinic (via Giddy). By engaging in self-pleasure before sex, you can remove some of the anxiety related to partnered sexual activity. This could help you last longer. 

This is the physiological side of things. A man's refractory period, put quite simply, is the time between when he last orgasmed and when he's able to orgasm again — in other words, a time of sexual recharging. According to experts, men need time to recover after an orgasm because their bodies have an increased flow of a hormone called prolactin that actually inhibits arousal for a while. 

Proponents of masturbating before sex think that this decreased sense of arousal could actually help them prolong partnered sexual activity. However, this theory is nuanced because a man's refractory period could be different depending on his age and sensitivity levels. For some men, the sense of depletion that comes after masturbation can last several hours. In fact, the older you get, the longer your refractory period might be. It can range anywhere from 10 seconds to 15 minutes to 24 hours.

It's safe to say that how long you have to wait before having sex depends entirely on you. Knowing your own body and mind and how they work is crucial. If you mistime your refractory period after masturbation, you could end up not being able to feel arousal or achieve an erection during sex. 

Again, the answer depends on you. If you've done this before and it's helped you avoid ejaculating before you wanted to during sex, then go for it. If it's helped you feel less stressed and more relaxed during partnered intimate time, again, good for you. Keep in mind, however, that trying to plan out your refractory period can in itself become a source of stress for some men. Wondering about whether or not you've left enough time between masturbation and sex, and overthinking whether you'll have enough energy or be able to achieve an erection, can become a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy that is common with premature ejaculation.

Finding a way to give your brain and body the best environment to genuinely enjoy sex should be the end goal here. Clinical sexologist Dr. Tanginika Simone Cuascud reminds men that penetration is not the only way to enjoy sex. "Sex and intimacy are more than a penis in a vagina or a penis in an anus or a penis in a mouth. There [are] a lot of things that comprise the whole universe of intimacy and sex," explained the expert (via The Sex Doctor on YouTube). If you're concerned about premature ejaculation during penetration, this is something to think about. 

That being said, premature ejaculation is a complex topic. The term itself can be subjective, but if you're concerned, see a sexual health specialist about it. Speaking of things you should or shouldn't be doing before intimacy, here is what happens when men do this type of exercise before sex.