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Health Benefits Of Female Masturbation


ladylove

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Health Benefits of Female Masturbation

Self-stimulation isn't just for pleasure as women get older.

By Krisha McCoy, MS

Medically reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin MD, MPH

Compared with male masturbation, female masturbation is considerably less common. According to the National Health and Social Life Survey, 39 percent of American women ages 18 to 60 reported masturbating during the previous year, compared with 61 percent of American men. There are many benefits linked to female masturbation, however, and practicing masturbation techniques appears to be particularly helpful for older women.

Benefits of Female Masturbation

As you age, your body undergoes normal physical changes that may affect your sex life. The good news is that all these changes aren’t bad: Aging can have positive effects on sexuality. Some women, for instance, report feeling the freedom to enjoy sex more as they get older and don’t have birth control issues to contend with. Other women, however, experience emotional or physical changes that can make sex less enjoyable.

One common problem that older women experience is physical changes in the vagina. As a woman ages, her vagina becomes shorter and more narrow. In addition, without regular supplies of estrogen, the walls of the vagina can become thin and stiff. For this reason, it is common to experience vaginal dryness, or a lack of natural vaginal lubrication (wetness), as you get older.

Practicing masturbation techniques can help remedy some of these problems by stimulating the brain to produce physical changes in the vagina. "Masturbation, which may include stimulation of the clitoris, urethra, and vagina, activates various neural pathways responsible for clitoral swelling, vaginal congestion, lengthening of the vagina, and lubrication," says Cathy K. Naughton, MD, director of the Metropolitan Urological Specialists' Center for Sexual Health in St. Louis.

Age may not be the only reason for vaginal dryness and pain during sex. A lack of sexual arousal can also contribute to these problems. Practicing masturbation techniques and becoming sexually aroused more frequently can be especially beneficial for older women who are experiencing less lubrication and more discomfort during sex.

And for women who no longer have an active sexual partner because they are divorced, widowed, or have a partner who is ill, masturbation can be a satisfying substitute for sexual intercourse.

Sexual Arousal in Older Women

The good news is that researchers say there are no differences between premenopausal and postmenopausal women when it comes to being physically able to get sexually aroused. When researchers have looked at vaginal congestion — increased blood circulation to the walls of the vagina, which is a marker of sexual arousal — in response to erotic stimulation, they have found that older women are just as able to become aroused when they are sexually stimulated as are younger women are.

If problems such as vaginal dryness are making you uncomfortable or are interfering with your sex life, you may want to try masturbation techniques. But be sure to address any feelings of guilt you may have when it comes to masturbating. And since female masturbation can be used to compensate for a lack of sexual satisfaction, avoid using masturbation to mask problems you may be having in your sex life with your partner.

"From a medical perspective, masturbation is physically safe and can offer individuals practice and sexual self-esteem," says Dr. Naughton. "However, it may be problematic if it is associated with excessive guilt or used compulsively to avoid intimacy."

Bottom line? Having a healthy sex life includes masturbation, well into your golden years.

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AMEN!!!

I told you all that masturbation (and orgasm AND sexual release in general) was IMPORTANT and GOOD FOR YOU!!!

Thanks for posting this!!!

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Thanx for posting the article :D . Very informative.

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  • 1 year later...
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Thanks for the article, very informative. My wife of 20 years has always enjoyed a good climax with our electric vibrator on HI speed, while I lick and suck on her nipples. Now that she is well into her 70's we've found that her natural lubrication, as well as mine, has diminished somewhat. So, after she is "down off her mountain", she strokes my penis with a good amount of Astroglide and then I will enter her from behind. She loves it that way. And will sometimes have a vaginal orgasm although not as strong as with the vibrator. As far as she is concerned, she will never get too old for sex.

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Yay!!

growing up I was kind of taught that that stuff was "bad to do" and now being married and having my daughter (she's to the age where she is learning all her body parts & has been caught rubbing herself "down there"), i don't really encourage her to do it. but i do tell her that that is something she needs to do in her room because some people don't like it. she's only 4 (almost 5) and my husband is a very strict man and tells her just flat out no and that's gross..

any tips on how i can explain it better for him.

anyways. I say YAY because this is a very informative article and thanks for sharing!

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Yay!!

growing up I was kind of taught that that stuff was "bad to do" and now being married and having my daughter (she's to the age where she is learning all her body parts & has been caught rubbing herself "down there"), i don't really encourage her to do it. but i do tell her that that is something she needs to do in her room because some people don't like it. she's only 4 (almost 5) and my husband is a very strict man and tells her just flat out no and that's gross..

any tips on how i can explain it better for him.

anyways. I say YAY because this is a very informative article and thanks for sharing!

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Yay!!

growing up I was kind of taught that that stuff was "bad to do" and now being married and having my daughter (she's to the age where she is learning all her body parts & has been caught rubbing herself "down there"), i don't really encourage her to do it. but i do tell her that that is something she needs to do in her room because some people don't like it. she's only 4 (almost 5) and my husband is a very strict man and tells her just flat out no and that's gross..

any tips on how i can explain it better for him.

anyways. I say YAY because this is a very informative article and thanks for sharing!

YES we had a thread on this awhile ago let me find it, lots of great feedback in there...

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YES we had a thread on this awhile ago let me find it, lots of great feedback in there...

thanks. if you just add a post to it, i'm sure it'll pop up in my "new content" area. it's been a big bother of mine lately. i love to play solo & i do think it's healthy, he just doesn't know how to react to it when it's a little girl..

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thanks. if you just add a post to it, i'm sure it'll pop up in my "new content" area. it's been a big bother of mine lately. i love to play solo & i do think it's healthy, he just doesn't know how to react to it when it's a little girl..

I found this one but I know there was a better one.... it may have been started by a member who left so it may not be there anymore.

I will say, as a mom of 2 little girls, it happens. I tell them they need to do that in their room, that is it private etc. My husband USED to get creeped out by it but it is a natural and normal part of life! Self exploration is NOT dirty or wrong!! How else are we supposed to figure things out if we don't know our own body??

I on the other hand never masturbated until I was around 18... I was brought up Catholic... enough said!

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What a fantastic article! Thanks so much for sharing! <3

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  • 8 months later...
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I just ordered some new toys for myself as an early "graduation" present--my funny term for menopause. I'm 49 and have been divorced for 8 years. Personal values include not having sex with another person unless I'm married to them, so I've been going solo since the divorce. One of my favorites is my adjustable shower massage. :) All of my previous sex toys died from use, so decided I'd try some new ones. I know that having regular orgasms helps my physical and mental well-being. Don't want to die without having had a more fulfilling sex life. I am being treated for depression, migraines, arthritis, and I have multiple sclerosis with extreme fatigue, occasional spasticity, and some incontinence. Masturbation helps with all of the above. I think more doctors should be talking about sexual health at annual physicals. One of the jokes I love about this: A divorced woman goes to her first annual physical since the divorce. The doc asks if she is sexually active, and she replies, "Do you mean with somebody?" LOL! I'm thankful for these forums, as I don't know if any of my friends would be open to this sort of discussion.

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