Forget counting sheep: It turns out that self-pleasure is one of the most effective methods for helping you drift off. Masturbation before bed is a healthy practice shown to improve your sleep quality, reduce the stress hormone cortisol, and even enhance your body image.
Sex and Sleep
“Sex and sleep are essential components of well-being,” says sex educator and psychotherapist Sarah Kelleher, CHSE, LCSW.
A study published in the Journal of Sleep Research examined diary entries from 256 men and women. Researchers found that masturbation and sex accompanied by orgasm helped people fall asleep faster and improved the quality of their sleep, regardless of whether participants were male or female. The reason for this may be that orgasm from sex or masturbation floods your brain with hormones that make you feel happy, sleepy, and satisfied.
Some experts think people may benefit from masturbation before sleep, even without orgasm. However, Kelleher adds, “When it comes to studies exploring the connection between sexual activity and improved sleep, research is still sparse.”
1. Improves Sleep Quality
“One of the main ways that masturbating before bed can lead to better sleep is that it can improve the quality of your sleep,” says sexologist and relationship expert Jenn Gunsaullus, PhD. This happens specifically through the hormones released during orgasm, she adds. They “can promote feelings of relaxation and reduce cortisol, the stress-related hormone that can interfere with sleep.”
Kelleher agrees, explaining that many of the hormones involved with orgasm could positively impact sleep, including oxytocin and dopamine.
2. Helps Reduce Screen Time
Screens on electronics, such as those on phones and TVs, are a source of blue light. Blue light at night suppresses melatonin and shifts your circadian rhythm, making it difficult to fall asleep.
If you find yourself looking at devices before sleep, masturbating instead could help reduce your screen time. This “creates a bedtime routine with less stimulation from technology and more relaxation from taking care of yourself,” adds Gunsaullus.
3. Calms Your Mind
“Choosing to focus your attention on masturbation and reminding yourself you’re worth taking care of can set the stage for a more relaxing shift to sleep,” Gunsaullus says.
In fact, masturbating before sleep might even be considered a mindfulness practice, says certified sex therapist Jaqueline Mendez. She explains that “when masturbating as a mindfulness practice, it’s not necessarily about chasing orgasm; sometimes it’s about paying attention to how different touches to the different parts of your body affect you.”
Aside from its calming benefits, viewing masturbation as a healthy habit may also help rewrite any internal dialogue you have around sexual shame.
4. May Improve Body Image
Lifestyle writer Natalie Arroyo Camacho challenged herself to masturbate before bed every night for a week and discovered that making time for self-pleasure led to a more positive relationship with her body image, something she previously struggled with.
“I’d long been self-conscious that because I’m not a size 2 my body wouldn’t feel good to someone else. But during the experiment I realized that I actually did feel good and that I wasn’t thinking about how my body looked,” Camacho wrote.
After masturbating every night for a week, Camacho found that she felt “less self-conscious about how others might perceive her during partnered sex.”
Mutual masturbation with a partner may also help improve body image as well as show your partner what you like.
Research shows that body image and orgasm during sex and masturbation are linked. However, more studies are needed to understand the connection.
Tips for Masturbating Before Bed
1. Set an Alarm or Reminder
Try setting an alarm for one hour before your usual bedtime to cue your body to wind down, suggests Gunsaullus. You can then “use this time to slow down, play some music, or light a scented candle before starting.”
2. Take Your Time
Don’t feel you have to limit your time to just one hour. Taking time to figure out if masturbating before bed will help you sleep better may take some experimentation, Kelleher adds. She suggests paying attention to whether your sleep quality changes or if you notice any differences when drifting off to sleep or waking up.
3. Reduce Distractions
Reducing distractions can help you concentrate on just you. Sexologist Rebecca Alvarez Story suggests tips like making sure your room isn’t cluttered and you have privacy. The less you worry about things like someone accidentally entering the room, the easier it is to let go.
4. Set the Ambiance
Surrounding yourself with things to set the mood, such as candles, aromatherapy, lubricants, or arousal oils, helps you to focus on your immediate environment, Story says. Treating pre-bedtime masturbation as an extension of self-care will help you remember that you’re worthy of pleasure.
The Takeaway
Sex or masturbation can be a relaxing, stress-relieving activity that can help you get better sleep.
Masturbating before bed may help you relieve stress, practice better self-care and sleep hygiene, and improve your body image.
Tips for masturbating before bed include setting a reminder, taking your time, and setting the mood.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
Oesterling CF et al. The Influence of Sexual Activity on Sleep: A Diary Study. Journal of Sleep Research. August 2023.
Horvath Z et al. Body Image, Orgasmic Response, and Sexual Relationship Satisfaction: Understanding Relationships and Establishing Typologies Based on Body Image Satisfaction. Sexual Medicine. December 2020.
Kara Smythe, MD, has been working in sexual and reproductive health for over 10 years. Dr. Smythe is a board-certified fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and her interests include improving maternal health, ensuring access to contraception, and promoting sexual health.
She graduated magna cum laude from Florida International University with a bachelor's degree in biology and earned her medical degree from St. George’s University in Grenada. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. She worked in Maine for six years, where she had the privilege of caring for an underserved population.
Smythe is also passionate about the ways that public health policies shape individual health outcomes. She has a master’s degree in population health from University College London and recently completed a social science research methods master's degree at Cardiff University. She is currently working on her PhD in medical sociology. Her research examines people's experiences of accessing, using, and discontinuing long-acting reversible contraception.
When she’s not working, Smythe enjoys dancing, photography, and spending time with her family and her cat, Finnegan.
Carina Hsieh is a writer and editor based in New York City. She was previously a Senior Editor at Cosmopolitan. Her freelance work has been published in The New Yorker, New York, SELF, Byrdie, Wondermind, and Yale Medicine. Her comedy writing and directing has been featured on BuzzFeed, New York, The Washington Post, Gothamist, InStyle, The Daily Mail, WhoHaHa, and The Verge. She is an alum of the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Yale School of Public Health.
