Is there any validity to NoFap?

RacingPlant · 2021-12-03T10:49:37+00:00

P*rn is definitely worse than fapping, but one thing leads to another right? I barely know any guy that only masturbates without watching shit on the internet. Imo watching it is just a waste of time and unnecessarily messing, so is fapping, but hey if you enjoy it and it improves your sex life go watch and do it I guess.

For me personally life is better without and abstaining from it puts the focus more on emotional bonding, which just works better for me.

RedPillDetox · 2021-11-30T09:22:08+00:00

It's a good thing you came up with this topic, because No Fap is a great example of how a couple of out of context scientific studies and just a general, collective tendency to fall for poor logic can lead to large social movements like No Fap. Simply put, there's simply not enough evidence that No Fap works, and while i do admit there isn't evidence that it doesn't work either, it's very important to clarify that No Fap is rooted mostly on nothing but the propaganda ou just collective superstition of it's practitioners.

Regarding the effects of masturbation abstinence on rising testosterone (a typical "benefit" claimed by NoFappers)

In other words, while there is indeed some research finding that sexual abstinence is linked to higher testosterone in men, the evidence is—at best—very mixed. Also, if you look to the overall trend in the data, it actually suggests that being sexually active in general increases testosterone, with the most consistent finding being that looking at porn enhances T.

(click here for source and more extensive/detailed information on the science of Masturbation and T)

Regarding masturbation and health benefits

Is masturbating really bad for your health? And will it necessarily ruin your relationship and “shatter” your life? Generally speaking, no. First, several studies have found that people who masturbate seem to report better physical and psychological health than those who abstain. For example, studies have found that masturbation is linked to higher self-esteem among women [1] and, among men, a lower likelihood of developing prostate cancer [2]. Research has also found that masturbatory orgasms provide a boost to the immune system. Specifically, one study found that after a masturbatory orgasm, men experienced an increase in leukocytes and natural killer cells (both of which are helpful in fighting off infections) compared to men who did not climax [3]. Related to this, some sexual health experts have claimed that female masturbation may prevent certain cervical infections because the cervix opens during sexual arousal, allowing bacteria to be flushed out.

(Click here for source and more extensive/detailed article)

Here's further reading and a video on the science of No Fap

So yeah, overall the studies on masturbation are very mixed and murky, probably because people don't generally have an interest in studying masturbation nor get many subjects willing to have their masturbation habits studied. But overall, on the face of the evidence so far, No Fap is based way more on superstition and just a collective sense that it works rather than actuat rigurous, well documented evidence.

pekkauser · 2021-11-30T12:45:35+00:00

I haven’t tried it for long, I usually quit after like four to five days, but my brother tried it for 135 or so days and it made him unbearably horny. So many times he would text me or tell me about it and I’d just get to the point where I’d be like “MASTURBATE, THERES NOTHING WRONG WITH IT” but he told me it doesn’t feel good for him. He said he did feel some more boosts of motivation here and there.

So I don’t care for no fap since using it to relieve the horny overall benefits me since I can at least not think about sex for a few hours

UnitedIntroduction48 · 2021-11-30T13:24:06+00:00

Nofap is dumb because when you do decide to cum you feel deflated after, and not everyone either lives with a woman or has a huge rotation of women to not touch your genetalia and meet the demands of their libido. Also, it shouldn't be that big of a deal if you get a great urge to cum and rub one out as long as your not doing it around other people.

It's is mostly an antiporn cult for guys that have 0 self-control rather than something that you do to improve the quality of your life.

Affectionate_Let5501 · 2021-12-03T07:17:20+00:00

like most things in red pill they only take what they want from that study I used to lift weights and jerked offed when i wanted when I hit a dry spell never affected my ambition or my weight lifting if anything it helped keep my lust under control so i could focus on my purpose. tbh all it does is give you more time to focus on productive things to your life and remove time wasters.

Slow-Manager4479 · 2021-11-30T20:24:31+00:00

If you must choose between telling people you’re participating in nofap and just jerking off. Please, for the love of God- pick the latter.

Carloverguy20 · 2021-11-30T22:20:04+00:00

Nofap is a foolish thing. They act as if watching porn and masturbating are a huge sin in society and if you do it, you are a bad person. Everything is fine in moderation, but Nofap tells lies that if you don't masturbate for 30 days you will become a greek god, who gets all of the ladies. If you do it once-twice a day, a few times a week, than it's fine. As long as you aren't doing it 24/7 you are okay.

Booda069 · 2021-11-30T09:23:22+00:00

Yea man I personally felt better, working out became less of a chore and I was more focused at work. Might have been the mediation more so than the abstinence

kaustix3 · 2021-11-30T12:53:04+00:00

You can have moderation you know. I found that doing it too often makes you think about it more not less. So lessfap might be good.

absolutebeginners · 2021-11-30T14:43:58+00:00

Thekidbkj · 2021-11-30T20:06:07+00:00

Ok-Goose7939 · 2021-12-18T18:38:44+00:00

Porn is a terrible thing in terms of addiction , it 's like a drug . I 've never been able to nofap for more than 37 days .

Liam_McQuinn · 2026-04-12T03:45:54+00:00

I personally believe that a lot of the claims around NoFap mix genuine experiences with assumptions about what’s causing them. I get why you’re looking for real experiences as a lot of people do report feeling better on NoFap. The sticky part is that personal experience isn’t always a great way to understand what’s affecting change for someone.

When people expect something to improve their confidence or motivation, they often make other changes at the same time (exercise, being more disciplined, or cutting back other habits). So, while benefits can be 100% genuine, I think sometimes people may attribute this incorrectly. If someone does feel a level of guilt or shame around jerking off, then by removing the trigger, people will often report improved mood and self-perception. So again, the benefits can be real, but they’re probably better explained by psychological or behavioural changes. Currently in the research literature, there’s no strong evidence that semen retention produces sustained biological changes like increased testosterone or “energy”.

For a lot of people, that feeling isn’t coming from the behaviour itself, but how you perceive that behaviour. If someone thinks it’s a negative or unhealthy habit, or representative of a loss of control, then it can reinforce the view that jacking off is bad for you.

My honest take is that it’s not a case of being life-changing or just hype. I think it's worthwhile looking at sources outside forums as well and doing your own research. If you look online, there’s plenty of research demonstrating that masturbation isn’t harmful and actually has a range of health benefits. For example, masturbation is associated with reductions in cortisol levels, improved immune function, improved mood, and a lower risk of all-cause mortality (I’ll drop a link to an article that gives a good overview).

If what you’re aiming for is more control, confidence, and focus there’s strong evidence that things like lifting regularly, having a routine, and social engagement are reliable ways to improve those. Personally, I’ve never had an issue with it.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14681994.2025.2491050#d1e121

Title	Is there any validity to NoFap?
Author	Brighr51
Upvotes	1
Comments	18
Date	November 30, 2021 8:39 AM UTC (4 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/ExRedPill
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/exredpill/comments/r5iuzq/is_there_any_validity_to_nofap/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/ExRedPill/is-there-any-validity-to-nofap.1089558 https://theredarchive.com/post/1089558

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