Does Nofap increase testosterone levels?

[Danioover9000]

   from these videos:

 

 

   So, guys, does it increase your testosterone levels? What are your anecdotal and scientific evidence about what these guys claimed? True, false, or stranger than fiction?

   Also inspired by a past mod that is an advocate for NoFap, I don't know your name, but you have inspired me to post this post.

[Bobby_2021]

Nope, in any kind of significant levels. 

Quickly after you jerk off you will notice a decrease, but it isn't enough to affect you on any significant level.

Overall, not important.

What's important is how you feel about it. If you feel guilty about it, then you may feel sad and depressed which in turn affect your T level. 

Obsessing about jerkin off isn't a good thing overall.

Do it and forget about it. Thinking about it takes away even more of your time. 

Edited October 17, 2022 by Bobby_2021

[Spiral]

I do not know the science behind it however I do feel like it does. I feel more confident, energetic and aggressive if I engage in nofap. Not to mention annoyingly horny all the god damn time. 

[Roy]

I'm gonna start my own overblown pseudo-intellectual trend called NoBreathe, to share the many intricate benefits to health from holding your breathe and denying your body oxygen. In fact, if you hold it indefinitely you can cure all diseases and ailments, permanently! 

Just teasing btw.

[NoSelfSelf]

@Roy 5 star comment ?

[Carl-Richard]

10 hours ago, Roy said:

I'm gonna start my own overblown pseudo-intellectual trend called NoBreathe, to share the many intricate benefits to health from holding your breathe and denying your body oxygen. In fact, if you hold it indefinitely you can cure all diseases and ailments, permanently! 

Just teasing btw.

NoShit is where it's at. By day 14, you'll be three inches taller and you won't need to bleach your anus anymore. It also triggers reverse kundalini awakening at some point (the descending snake ?).

Edited October 18, 2022 by Carl-Richard

[Asayake]

To me Nofap seems to have some validity to it in the same way that a fast has some validity. It can give discipline benefits for people struggling to abstain from masturbation/who masturbate often as a cope. I've tried it and it does seem to have some sort of alteration/impact on state of conciousness. Perhaps it's because of testosterone, dopamine or maybe it's abstaining from porn that gives most of the positive mental effect. In either case when I've tried it for a few days to a few weeks, it does seem to increase my productivity, sense of self control and energy levels somewhat.

However, I think masturbation can also have some self bonding properties that can be benefical too, it can be a way to relax and show yourself some love, it's a way to experience something beautiful with yourself. But it can become a problem when it becomes an obsessive coping mechanism to get rid of boredom or other tough feelings too often. Then it becomes an escape from facing yourself. And porn can be problematic in the sense that there's a lot of unethical porn out there exploiting poor women and taking advantage of that for short term pleasure, who knows what the subconcious implications of that is. I think porn can also contribute to objectifying thoughts about women and have a negative impact on society as a whole. I think watching porn everyday certainly is not healthy and yet a lot of men do this. Porn & masturbation also serves as a substitute for contact with women for many incels which is another way it can be abused in an unhealthy way. Some psycho people like Ted Bundy have said porn was what pushed them over the edge, and while it's not a big problem for everyone I think there are many signs hinting about potential dangers with porn for some people.

This is just my two notes from my own experiences with masturbation & abstaining from it. I think masturbation is good, but too much of it or doing it as an escapism of some sort can be bad. I think porn is the biggest problem though. Nofap can be a useful experience but you got to watch out so you don't take it on as an ideology. Because then you might be downloading other ideas that you didn't sign up for to begin with.

Edited October 17, 2022 by Asayake

[The0Self]

No.

But y’all, seriously… It’s one thing to ask this in person, but assuming you’re on this site, you also have an internet connection and access to google / search engines / research. Jeez, guys… Google: “ncbi semen retention testosterone”

Edited October 18, 2022 by The0Self

[Danioover9000]

@Asayake

22 hours ago, Asayake said:

To me Nofap seems to have some validity to it in the same way that a fast has some validity. It can give discipline benefits for people struggling to abstain from masturbation/who masturbate often as a cope. I've tried it and it does seem to have some sort of alteration/impact on state of conciousness. Perhaps it's because of testosterone, dopamine or maybe it's abstaining from porn that gives most of the positive mental effect. In either case when I've tried it for a few days to a few weeks, it does seem to increase my productivity, sense of self control and energy levels somewhat.

However, I think masturbation can also have some self bonding properties that can be benefical too, it can be a way to relax and show yourself some love, it's a way to experience something beautiful with yourself. But it can become a problem when it becomes an obsessive coping mechanism to get rid of boredom or other tough feelings too often. Then it becomes an escape from facing yourself. And porn can be problematic in the sense that there's a lot of unethical porn out there exploiting poor women and taking advantage of that for short term pleasure, who knows what the subconcious implications of that is. I think porn can also contribute to objectifying thoughts about women and have a negative impact on society as a whole. I think watching porn everyday certainly is not healthy and yet a lot of men do this. Porn & masturbation also serves as a substitute for contact with women for many incels which is another way it can be abused in an unhealthy way. Some psycho people like Ted Bundy have said porn was what pushed them over the edge, and while it's not a big problem for everyone I think there are many signs hinting about potential dangers with porn for some people.

This is just my two notes from my own experiences with masturbation & abstaining from it. I think masturbation is good, but too much of it or doing it as an escapism of some sort can be bad. I think porn is the biggest problem though. Nofap can be a useful experience but you got to watch out so you don't take it on as an ideology. Because then you might be downloading other ideas that you didn't sign up for to begin with.

   Best comment in the thread overall, with little needed improvements here and there, but a well-balanced take!

[The0Self]

4 hours ago, Tahuti said:

Read abstracts as well as meta-analysis of things in question.

^^^ ? !!

[Carl-Richard]

30 minutes ago, QQQ said:

When I abstain from caffeine I sit at my natural baseline. When I consume caffeine I feel way better and then way worse, then return to my natural baseline.

I have the same experience with masturbation. 

You do the same for poop?

[integral]

It depends on how healthy your absorption is for food and if you can afford losing the nutrients from ejaculation.

If the body can’t quickly replenish the nutrients or if the nutrients are in short supply ejaculation depletes the energy levels of the body in many ways. Lower wound healing, skin issues, hair growth issues, nail growth issues, mental health issues, muscle fatigue, poor sleep quality and regeneration…

Edited October 22, 2022 by integral

[Danioover9000]

@integral

On 2022-10-22 at 11:09 AM, integral said:

It depends on how healthy your absorption is for food and if you can afford losing the nutrients from ejaculation.

If the body can’t quickly replenish the nutrients or if the nutrients are in short supply ejaculation depletes the energy levels of the body in many ways. Lower wound healing, skin issues, hair growth issues, nail growth issues, mental health issues, muscle fatigue, poor sleep quality and regeneration…

   That does make sense on some level. Nutrition and sleep quality and exercise on some level is important, as too much masturbation leads to flu like or fever like symptoms, weird chest and throat sensations, phantom pains and aches in the body's skin, a bad feeling of emptiness.

   I think NoFap, if done too seriously, can be a problem, but if it's for short term abstinence it's okay, longer or shorter durations, as long as there's the intent to increase your will power and discipline I think it's fine.

   Paradoxically, in a deeper level, actually NoFap does increase the pleasures of masturbation, or real sex, in which case it can become the most top priority for doing NoFap is for more pleasure, among other things like experiencing those self-reported benefits of the practitioners of NoFap in one's direct experience, to verify each one.

[integral]

3 hours ago, Danioover9000 said:

   I think NoFap, if done too seriously, can be a problem, but if it's for short term abstinence it's okay, longer or shorter durations, as long as there's the intent to increase your will power and discipline I think it's fine.

  Paradoxically, in a deeper level, actually NoFap does increase the pleasures of masturbation, or real sex, in which case it can become the most top priority for doing NoFap is for more pleasure, among other things like experiencing those self-reported benefits of the practitioners of NoFap in one's direct experience, to verify each one.

That's a reasonable take. To add to it, NoFap is recommended for people with various digestive issues, there was a thread a while ago that was pretty good on a guy who i think had a autoimmune issue and masturbation triggered it, he ended up curing the issue some how and he can finally start masturbating again (thank god)

Personality if i masturbate I'm weaker at the gym, i need to eat something to replenish before going. 

Edited October 24, 2022 by integral

[sleep]

I recall reading a study in which the testosterone levels of the participants were measured. It raised bit by bit until the seventh day in which the participants' testosterone raised to something like 400%, then slowly decended over time. 

[Breakingthewall]

I think that masturbating little (sometimes is necessary imo), keeps testosterone levels higher. I don't think it's because of semen retention but because masturbating a lot lowers testosterone due to the vibe of masturbation. It is not the same as having quality sex. masturbating, usually with porn, lowers you, it is an addictive and self-humiliating practice, it takes away your virility, confidence, self-esteem. All of this affect the testosterone levels. Everything affect. a study measured the testosterone levels of soccer fans after their team was defeated or emerged victorious. they varied significantly.

[Yarco]

Quote

The serum testosterone concentrations of 28 volunteers were investigated daily during abstinence periods after ejaculation for two phases. The authors found that the fluctuations of testosterone levels from the 2nd to 5th day of abstinence were minimal. On the 7th day of abstinence, however, a clear peak of serum testosterone appeared, reaching 145.7% of the baseline ( P < 0.01). 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12659241/

Quote

Another small study says it increases after three weeks - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11760788/

Quote

2007 animal study - frequent masturbation causes less androgen receptors in the brain, which help your body make testosterone - https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Alonso-Fernandez-Guasti/publication/6536830_Relationship_between_Sexual_Satiety_and_Brain_Androgen_Receptors/links/54b6c2970cf2e68eb27f0321/Relationship-between-Sexual-Satiety-and-Brain-Androgen-Receptors.pdf

 

Basically there has only been a handful of small studies, so nothing conclusive.

I'd suggest you just try it for yourself for 1 week and see what anecdotal results you get. Most people at least get a boost in confidence, easier to hold eye contact, etc.

Edited October 31, 2022 by Yarco

[something_else]

Quote

It depends on how healthy your absorption is for food and if you can afford losing the nutrients from ejaculation.

If the body can’t quickly replenish the nutrients or if the nutrients are in short supply ejaculation depletes the energy levels of the body in many ways. Lower wound healing, skin issues, hair growth issues, nail growth issues, mental health issues, muscle fatigue, poor sleep quality and regeneration…

Losing nutrients from ejaculation? What did I just read? Do you have links for that, lol.

There are like 10 calories in the average ejaculation and a tiny quantity of various different nutrients. Your body will not have breakdown if you lose too much semen/sperm through ejaculation.

Your body has evolved over billions of years to maximise how much sex it has. It would be stupidly counter-productive if having lots of sex resulted in your body having serious shortages of nutrients and vitamins. Such genes would not propagate well at all.

[The0Self]

5 hours ago, something_else said:

Losing nutrients from ejaculation? What did I just read? Do you have links for that, lol.

There are like 10 calories in the average ejaculation and a tiny quantity of various different nutrients. Your body will not have breakdown if you lose too much semen/sperm through ejaculation.

Your body has evolved over billions of years to maximise how much sex it has. It would be stupidly counter-productive if having lots of sex resulted in your body having serious shortages of nutrients and vitamins. Such genes would not propagate well at all.

For real. Actually demand researched evidence for these incredible claims guys.

[Danioover9000]

@sleep

13 hours ago, sleep said:

I recall reading a study in which the testosterone levels of the participants were measured. It raised bit by bit until the seventh day in which the participants' testosterone raised to something like 400%, then slowly decended over time. 

   That's a crazy spike in testosterone in just one week, no wonder most of those doing NoFap felt amazing in 1 week and in 3-4 weeks later.