NoFap is a movement created by men to help inspire other men to stop watching porn and masturbating so they can find freedom, more self-worth, and live a better quality of life.
You can find many areas full of medical information for informational purposes regarding porn addiction and other related topics and many men report positive changes in their mental health, mood, and relationships as a result of NoFap.
If you’re looking to see if NoFap is right for you and claim the benefits for yourself, read on. There are also additional tools and resources available to help you overcome pornography addiction and find freedom from other compulsive sexual behaviors.
What is NoFap?
The anti-masturbation movement NoFap was formed, and the supporters claim refraining from masturbating for lengthy periods enhances their life and sexuality.
Besides this, the NoFap community consists of others who join for religious or ethical reasons, and they have concerns over the consequences of masturbation and watching porn.
The NoFap movement promotes a particular view on masturbation and sexuality. Pornography, it claims, is detrimental.
Thus, with the NoFap approach of avoiding masturbation it can help people with self-improvement in their life and avoid obsessive or addictive sexual behavior. Followers who found NoFap by choice or by accident see the numbers of members increase.
The NoFap Movement Catches on Like Wildfire
A June 2011 NoFap Reddit post linked to a National Institute of Health study being done.
When men don’t masturbate for seven days, their testosterone levels increase by 45.7 percent. This is the main point of the study.
Redditors took part in a week-long NoFap challenge, where one suggestion was that “fapstinence” was a wonderful way to get people to do their best work.
Then the NoFap Community Was Created
The official NoFap subreddit was made, and NoFap.org launched a year later. Individuals could meet and talk to other members about different methods for not masturbating and monitor improvements attributed to NoFap.
For porn addicts, it is about recovery, was what Alexander Rhodes, the NoFap community creator, said.
Some “fapstronauts” wish to improve interpersonal relationships, either in marriage, trying to hold down a relationship, or when single.
You’re Not Alone in This
There are many reasons you can join the NoFap community, but all often seek the same goal. While there are no strict sourcing guidelines, the NoFap participants help each other abstain from PMO (porn/masturbation & orgasm).
NoFap isn’t gender-specific and has not only male NoFap members, be it heterosexual men or gay. In addition, you can find an amount of NoFap women called femstronauts.
Why NoFap Differs from Semen Retention
Even though it looks the same, there are some differences between NoFap semen retention and regular semen retention. Masturbation can make people feel bad to avoid it as much as possible. This could give them more time for other things, improving the health benefits they feel as they follow the NoFap approach.
However, there is no scientific evidence that masturbation is wrong, and no peer reviewed studies show masturbating is good for you.
A case study from 2015 says that some evidence may show that masturbation and poor mental health may be linked. Because of cultural or religious beliefs, some people feel guilty after masturbating, though it isn’t enough reason to be ashamed.
Masturbation is common for most men, but becomes a problem if it interferes with work, relationships, and social life.
What About Pornography Addiction?
People in the NoFap anti-masturbation movement believe that sex and pornography addiction are common. Although outside of NoFap, many don’t believe pornography addiction is real, even with some peer-reviewed studies suggesting it is.
For instance, pornography addiction isn’t an official diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association or the DSM. They claim that there isn’t enough scientific evidence to support the idea that people are addicted to sex or porn, however, thousands of men seek therapy and treatment to get help to overcome their struggles with unwanted porn use, which NoFap wants to help with giving support to men to stop.
Discovering the root cause of your pornography or masturbation habit/addiction is critical to ultimately overcoming it. Here’s a powerful podcast episode that can help you identify the reasons why you’re struggling.
Compulsive Sexual Behavior
NoFap wants people to stop masturbating to pornography, which differs from semen retention or masturbating without ejaculating.
Some people say that semen retention improves health, and others say it makes sex more fun, while others use semen retention to learn how to have a non-ejaculatory orgasm.
Some people call this act of self-love “fap and was coined from the onomatopoeic internet slang term for male masturbation.” It was first used in a 1999 web comic called Sexy Losers to describe the sound of a male character masturbating, thus NoFap is avoiding self pleasure.
You can find it on UrbanDictionary.com as the “onomatopoeic representation of masturbation.” NoFap is what it sounds like, so it is what it is.
Over 81,000 people in this community say the practice has made many significant changes in their lives, like giving them more confidence, improved sex lives, concentration, motivation, libido, and even bigger penises.
For some people, it’s a way to deal with their concerns about their porn use, who wish to reduce porn and finally quit porn, while others use it as a test of self-control.
Pros and Cons of NoFap Masturbation
NoFap agrees that are no actual health risks to not masturbating, but some people may find it difficult and frustrating, making them angry or moody.
There may not be any immediate health risks from masturbation, but research consistently shows that a higher ejaculation frequency has a lot of health benefits and physical benefits:
- Sperm and semen health in men: Regular ejaculation may keep the number of sperm in the body at a healthy level. It may also help to have healthy, well-formed sperm and an average amount of semen.
- Improved sexual health: Masturbation may help people better understand their sexual desires, learn what makes them feel good, and talk to their partner about their sexual needs. Sex therapists often say that masturbation can help both partners have better sex.
- Masturbation can make it easier for people who want to stop having sex. It can also be an excellent way to cut down on the risk of pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted infections.
- Some research suggests that regular ejaculation, such as masturbation or sex, may be good for your health. For example, researchers found that men who have regular ejaculations may be less likely to get prostate cancer, with an ejaculation frequency over 21 per month offering most benefits.
Here you can see the follow-up benefits of NoFap. However, it could be a placebo effect, and many do things to make such changes happen.
What Are the Physical Health Benefits of NoFap?
There are many positive benefits that men experiences during their NoFap process:
- Increased physical performance
- Greater muscle growth
- Increased penis size
- Improved focus
- Deeper voice
- Being found more attractive by women
- Less tendency to objectify the opposite sex
- A great ability to harness sexual energy
With a higher serum testosterone level, you can find an increase in mood, motivation, and performance in males. It’s linked to muscle growth and athletic performance and why testosterone supplements are banned in sports.
When To See a Doctor
A study looking into why people stop masturbating explicitly found, specifically the perception of masturbation being unhealthy and having negative effects.
Masturbation is not a medical problem, and individuals don’t need to see a doctor because they masturbate or decide not to. However, when there are specific questions about masturbation, it is best to seek the help of a doctor or sex therapist. NoFap promotes the idea of healthy sexual practices and sexual health.
Here are reasons to see your specialist regarding a masturbation problem.
- Pornography or other sexual practices control your life
- You experience pain, negative emotions, or feel guilty when masturbating
- You struggle to get an erection with a partner
- You find changes in sexual function
- You have trouble ejaculating, or you ejaculate easier than you want
What About Abstinence From All Sexual Behavior?
Two studies often pop up and are used as evidence to show the physical and mental health benefits of sexual abstinence to increase testosterone to support the NoFap movement. The first had ten men test testosterone levels before masturbation and orgasm, followed at ten-minute intervals.
Once they accomplished this, they spent three weeks refraining from any sexual behaviors or sexual activity. Upon completion, they ran through the first test again, where testosterone was higher after abstinence.
Despite such conclusions, the sample size was small and composed mainly of young men. The increase in testosterone maybe because of anticipation of sexual arousal in the second experiment following abstinence.
The second study reported a 45% increase in testosterone levels after seven days of abstinence, yet it was temporary, and levels quickly returned to normal.
How Long Does it Take to Recover from Porn Addiction?
NoFap also wants people to have freedom from pornography use as well. People who are new to getting help for a pornography addiction often want to know how long it takes to get clean.
Porn addiction recovery can be challenging for many people, so it makes sense to wonder why. Having a “day count” or a date to work toward makes recovery seem possible. NoFap has a different approach – it sounds a lot less scary to say, “recover from pornography addiction in 90 days” than “recover from porn addiction,” which sounds scarier and more overwhelming.
When experts and the media talk about “compulsive sexual behavior disorder” (CSBD), they often say it’s “sex addiction.” However, many men feel overwhelming sexual urges that they can’t control, so they seek help and tools to fight the temptations.
Getting the right tools and support can help you overcome a pornography addiction within 90 days, even if you’ve struggled for years. The only way to find freedom within 90 days is to address the underlying cause of the addiction and resolve the core issue that causes the unwanted porn use.
How Does the NoFap Movement See Overcoming Porn Addiction
NoFap doesn’t focus on sexual behavior related to porn, but some users say they have problems with it when they have a porn habit. You’ll find a vast difference between having sex and watching sex films.
Experts also believe such individuals could have faced trauma or had other things happen to them, so they abuse a healthy behavior.
NoFap’s primary goal is to help people get over their pornography addiction, but some people have trouble trying to quit porn.
You don’t have to be addicted to porn to have adverse effects from your pornography addiction and sex addiction. Habits CSBD, which has been called “sex addiction,” is one of the most common types of internet porn overuse, and the more porn you consume, the harder it can be to quit your porn consumption.
The recommended time to get over a pornography addiction is about 90 days, but NoFap lets participants decide how long this should be.
This is a Movement for All
You can find many myths in medical information news regarding NoFap, although most are tertiary references and have little to support them. The latest news being the NoFap community comprises all heterosexual men; however, it comprises 95% men and around 5% females (femstronauts).
NoFap seeks to help anyone willing to abstain regardless of gender or sexual orientation or age. There are many young men who are choosing to participate in NoFap too in order to harness their energy as they learn how to interact with the opposite sex.
Some members of NoFap report a greater ability to become aroused in bed after abstaining from PMO and notice improved sexual health as well as other potential benefits of NoFap.
In theory, this could make sense with hard porn. However, some argue that hard porn could make real-life sex less arousing since porn often creates an idealized and unrealistically stimulating world.
Can Therapy Help?
Therapy can be one of the most helpful things for someone who is struggling to live the NoFap lifestyle. The reason why it helps is to give you more tools and strategies to get control over your sexual urges.
The more ways you have to fight off temptation and ultimately develop muscle memory to make the right choice over and over, the easier it will be for you to stay strong.
Making NoFap Cool
In a day and age with instant access to unlimited pornography, many in the community want to help make NoFap and avoiding pornography cool.
Porn is often glamorized and normalized as something that ‘every guy does,’ but Terri Crews and many others are speaking out against the porn industry and creating a stance of it being cool and beneficial to avoid porn and focus on real relationships.
The NoFap Approach Could Benefit Your Life
In summary, little scientific evidence proves or disproves specific merits of NoFap and male anti masturbation.
But, if you decide to try NoFap, you can find NoFap one of the most demanding exercises in self-discipline to overcome porn addiction or even to experience the physical benefits found by refraining from masturbation.
Those who pursue NoFap as a way of being often find that the control, focus, and clarity they achieve, alone with all of the other benefits, is well worth the sacrifice of momentary pleasure.
