I have work to do, but somebody said, essentially, to put up or shut up, so I'm going to put up and let you lot sort it out.
The original article on the study done in Germany was reported in print, not online, in Der Spiegel. If memory serves, it would have been around the time of the last World Cup. A good college library should have back issues, although being able to read German is essential. On a shorter note, in English:
"The German team physician endorses sex for male and female athletes, saying: "Sex does not cause any loss of strength."
He may be right. This year, a Russian psychologist told a German newspaper that neither gender should abstain. "It’s simple," she said. "More sex means more gold.""
http://news.scotsman.com/features.cfm?id=814602004
If it's good enough for the German Olympic team...although this article gives a whole new outlook on the Games!
Also:
"Having sex before an event should not physically hinder your athletic output or performance . In actuality it may even help athletes before an important game. The usual scenario the night before a game or competition is one filled with anxiety and insomnia. One of the most inexpensive, easiest, and beneficial ways to have a good night's rest and relax is sex, even if it is masturbation. Only persons with severe heart conditions may have a problem with sexual activity, and those people would hardly be medically fit to undertake serious athletic competition."
So why do so many pro athletes swear by abstinance?
"The outcome is that the athlete believes in it so much that it influences him or her to perform better."
In other words, it works only because they think it works.
And:
"The Minnesota Viking's last four trips to the Super Bowl ended in defeat, 0-4. Might that be due to the fact that the coaches enforced abstinence the night before?"
Heh...
All from
http://www.soc.ucsb.edu/sexinfo/?article=anatomy&refid=009
And
"... the coach's old maxim that sex saps strength is questionable, as long as proper rest and sleep patterns are maintained. A study at Colorado State University showed that having sex within 24 hours of athletic activity didn't hurt performance."
From
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0675/is_6_18/ai_67372497
No comment on masturbation here, but since sex is a heck of a lot more vigorous, not to mention time-consuming, I'd say that whacking off before the game is pretty safe, and you're more likely to get a good night's sleep, since orgasm helps with that. Too much exercise, though, can muck up your sex life.
As far as all of the wonderful things this experiment is supposed to do to your testosterone?
"Researchers found that abstaining from ejaculation for six days had no impact on serum testosterone levels. On the seventh day, serum testosterone levels peaked to 145.7% of baseline, and then declined rapidly on the eighth day.7,8"
from
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/south99.htm
So in other words, eight days into this, your testosterone is going to take a nice nose dive.
From the same site: frequent ejaculation in your twenties helps protect against prostate cancer, and frequent orgasm has positive effects on heart health and immune function, and where immune function is concerned, it's induced orgasms that do the trick, not nocturnal emissions, which is interesting. They key is induced orgasms. How they're induced doesn't seem to matter.
Where your prostate gland is concerned, it appears to be use it or lose it.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/04/040408090927.htm
http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/07/17/masturbate030717
Just for kicks:
http://www.menstuff.org/issues/byissue/masturbation.html
Problems associated with frequent masturbation? Lowered sperm count:
"The more a man ejaculates each week, the lower his sperm levels fall, new research shows. However, this ejaculatory frequency only partly explains why a man's sperm count varies widely each time it's checked."
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-09/01/content_370811.htm
So if you're trying to become a father, backing off a bit might be a good idea. If you're not, once a day won't render you sterile but it will decrease your chances.
Orgasm is good for you, plain and simple. If masturbation is causing serious disruption in your life, the problem is either some kind of physical issue that requires medical attention or it's the result of what you believe about it. Read a few history books on the subject of sex and culture. It can help put the whole thing into perspective. As far as how you feel goes, I'm not interested in feelings because they're subjective. They apply only to the individual having them, and they are based on perceptions that often lack any connection to reality. Facts are a heck of a lot more important.
Have I been with a man who tried, with some success, not to masturbate? Yes. I've also known more casually many who felt wierd/guilty/depressed about it, and, like that particular ex, they tended to have a lot of other hang-ups, too. It wasn't that they weren't having sex, or even having a lot of sex, it was that they had a lot of artificial limits put on that sex. Some positions, kinds of play, or whatever were automatically out and any woman who indulged in them was a sl*t, regardless of her actual number of partners. They also tended to get freaked out by the fact that the female body was a human one, that women eat, sh*t, p*ss, menstruate, fart, and look weird first thing in the morning. A lot of guys I went to college with were like this, a few so bad that they wouldn't even look at their girlfriends before they put their morning warpaint on. So much for Saturday morning! Whether they grew out of it or not, I have no idea, nor do I know what created the difference between them and the men who did not have these hang-ups.
What they were not? Smooth operators or, if their girlfriends were to be believed, particularly outstanding lovers. They were just horny. And repressed. It got old.
Oh, and my editors? These guys know sex inside-out and backwards, but they were never AFCs. Or jerks, either. No they're not Alphas in the sense you all seem to define it, nor do that have much by way of game. Most may not even know what it means. What they are is smart, sophisticated, interesting, open and very sensual. They're a pleasure to work with, but they have no fear of pleasure, and that's a rare, wonderful thing in this world.
And no, I haven't slept with any of them, but they do want things from me and it's getting past time I delivered. I'm curious to see what they think.
Again, feel like you have to do this? Then do it. Good luck. But I don't think it would hurt to take a close look at what's inspiring it, not your knee-jerk reactions to masturbation but to what's behind them. Does it make you feel bad because it causes physical problems that orgasm in a women does not? Or do you feel bad because you think you should?
Persephone
