If you are like millions of people stuck at home during the Pandemic without a partner, it is likely that solo sex (masturbation) has become one of your best friends, as well it should.
There is actually not a lot of research on why people masturbate so I was really pleased to see that Love Honey, a global sexual health company recently surveyed over 2000 sexually active people in the U.S. about their masturbation practices and sexual toy use.
Some of the results were surprising. For example, 70% of respondents said they masturbated within the last month. Unfortunately, the research does not break this down by gender.
My guess is that this answer would skew more male since I’m pretty certain if I asked a room of women how many masturbated within the last month, that number would be significantly lower.
Not surprisingly, the older we get the less solo sex occurs with 27% of 55 and older saying they never masturbate. Only 4% of people ages 18-24 said the same.
Solo sex is also more prevalent among singles in which 50% self pleasure three or more times a week than those in relationships.
The majority of people (52%) use masturbation as relaxation which makes sense given the incredible high levels of anxiety that we are under at the moment between Covid-19, the economy and politics.
Orgasm releases endorphins such as oxytocin (the cuddle hormone) which significantly reduces the impact of cortisol (the anxiety hormone) that you may be running in your body 24/7.
In addition, orgasm also releases prolactin, a hormone which especially in males, produces a low energy, sleepy feeling, that helps you to relax and rest.
Interestingly, over 28% said that they masturbate to improve their mental health which of course is part of stress reduction and relaxation.
Apparently, solo sex does improve your outlook on life. 51% said masturbation makes them happy and 41% said it makes them more content.
Not surprisingly, the survey also looked at how people use sex toys and there’s quite a bit of juicy information on that which can read about here.
Favorite fun facts on sex toy use:
- Women favor toys over men
- Age brings more wisdom and comfort disclosing your use of sex toys
- We’re not very open talking about sex toys with friends
- Lots of people keep their sex toys inside of gloves and socks!
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