Can Masturbation Cause ED? What The Science Says

Spoiler alert: there isn’t a scientific link between your masturbation habits and erectile dysfunction.

Can masturbation, or more specifically, the way you’re masturbating or how often you masturbate, contribute to erectile dysfunction? If you’ve been battling ED and are worried that your masturbation habits might be to blame, you’re not alone in buying into the myth that masturbation and erectile dysfunction are linked. The good news is that masturbation does not cause erectile dysfunction, no matter the way or the frequency at which you prefer to pleasure yourself. Take a look at the facts.

Masturbation does not cause erectile dysfunction

There is no scientific link between masturbation and erectile dysfunction. While excessive masturbation is often associated with a less satisfying sex life, most research on the topic doesn’t find an actual correlation between the two. One 2022 study for example investigated the relationship between masturbation and erectile functioning in 3,586 men with a mean age of 40, and found that “masturbation frequency shows weak or no association with erectile functioning [or] ED severity.” Another study from the same year analyzed questionnaire data from 4,160 Norwegians between…