What Is NoFap? What Are the Benefits?
NoFap doesn’t call itself an anti-masturbation movement, but it comes pretty close.
Self-described as a “peer support website,” NoFap is an internet community (originating as the NoFap subreddit) where men and a few women abstain from porn, masturbation, and orgasms for periods of time to overcome masturbation and porn addiction.
Before we dive into the purported benefits of NoFap, we want to be clear: masturbation is completely normal. While it can be healthy to assess your relationship with masturbation and porn if you think your habits are having a negative impact on your life, engaging in abstinence pledges you find online may not be worthwhile, especially if such pledges are based on shoddy science (or no science at all).
For one, pornography addiction and masturbation addiction are controversial topics, with many experts not even sure they exist.
And what about claims that a porn or masturbation detox can improve things like concentration and muscle growth? Is there any proof?
To help you decide if NoFap is worth the hype, let’s break down how masturbation impacts your mental health and physical health, and if there’s any value in abstinence challenges.
What is NoFap?
“Fap” is a slang term for masturbation that has become increasingly popular over the last decade or so. So NoFap, meaning no masturbation, refers to masturbation abstinence.
The so-called “NoFap Challenge” is a time-bound commitment to masturbatory abstinence (sometimes called fapstinence) meant to help you reap the alleged benefits of self-restraint. The NoFap movement, which you can find at NoFap.com, is essentially one great big abstinence support group.
NoFap has gamified the experience of “rebooting,” or recovering from porn addiction through abstinence. The period of time is typically chosen by the participant, but both 30- and 90-day reset challenges exist in the NoFap community. This includes the well-known “No Nut November.”
These community-driven reboots aim to reset the addiction pathways in your brain and, in the process, “fix” the symptoms associated with porn addiction, such as porn-induced erectile dysfunction.
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What Is the NoFap Process?
The point of NoFap can be best summed up as prolonged periods of abstinence from porn, masturbation, and orgasms to achieve better health. Despite its ascetic-sounding name, NoFap proponents claim the movement is not against sexual pleasure, but rather the compulsive pursuit of sexual pleasure.
At the heart of NoFap is the idea of treating both pornography and masturbation as addictions that need to be treated through self-control, self-improvement, and a cold-turkey break from internet porn.
Compulsive sexual behaviour (also called hypersexuality) does exist, but in the NoFap book, porn also takes the place of real relationships — it replaces partnered sexual activity with excessive solo time. Which, according to the movement, is bad.
Porn addiction, according to NoFap, is caused by the habit-forming nature of our brain’s reward system and how porn forms strong pathways with neurotransmitters to make the addiction powerful.
Despite its internet focus and origin, NoFap isn’t really a new concept — abstinence and anti-masturbation movements have been around for centuries.
But this Reddit-based community of pro-abstinence crusaders has rebranded those ideas into two guiding principles:
Internet pornography is bad for your brain, and avoiding it is good for your mental health.
Masturbation is generally bad for your health (particularly in excess), and abstaining from masturbation is, therefore, good for it.
In summation? NoFap wants you to avoid: masturbation and pornography.
This modern take on abstinence (mixed in with a little anti-porn messaging) may seem harmless — even worthy of support on the surface — but the medical community isn’t so sure.
Let’s Talk About the NoFap Controversy
The NoFap movement receives a lot of flak, and most of it is due to NoFap’s association with radical or extreme political groups that have co-opted the NoFap philosophy as part of their own.
Some detractors have labelled the group as “porn-critical” because NoFap fits into the dogma of extremely conservative, Christian, and misogynistic groups both on and off the web.
It’s fair to say that enforcing social stigma or shaming a person for healthy sexual behaviours is not productive, but it’s also fair to say that the beliefs of some members don’t necessarily represent an entire organisation.
That said, it’s certainly not a small group — the online community of NoFap Redditors alone boasts a membership of well over a million who believe that freedom from porn is a major life upgrade.
NoFap’s Benefits, According to NoFap
What are the benefits of NoFap? According to the NoFap movement, the health benefits of rebooting include better erections, increased concentration, enhanced relationship quality, and more.
Alleged Mental Health Benefits
Better mood, attitude, and sense of self
Increased motivation
Reduced stress levels
Improved self-esteem and confidence
Less shame
Reduced brain fog
Fewer symptoms of depression
Stronger relationships
Alleged Physical Health Benefits
Increased energy levels (less fatigue)
Better focus and concentration
Improved sperm count
Enhanced muscle growth
Recovery from sex addiction
Decreased symptoms of sexual dysfunction
Better sleep
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NoFap’s Benefits, According to Science
Is there science behind NoFap? Unfortunately for NoFappers, or fapstronauts, there’s not much in the way of scientific evidence to correlate sexual dysfunction or sex addiction with porn addiction or excessive masturbation.
Many of the proposed benefits of NoFap are anecdotally offered by members in anonymous online forums. But thus far, research hasn’t proved a link between excessive amounts of porn (or masturbation) and any dysfunction — mental or physical.
Does NoFap Help Premature Ejaculation or Erectile Dysfunction?
There is not enough evidence to say that masturbation or porn contributes to sexual dysfunctions like premature ejaculation (PE) and erectile dysfunction (ED).
The only science behind NoFap seems to point to a correlation between people who have sexual dysfunctions like PE and ED and a “self-perceived” porn addiction.
Though the study’s authors went so far as to recommend healthcare professionals consider porn addiction a contributing factor when someone with it experiences ED, they did not believe that the two have a precise cause-and-effect relationship.
Basically, more research is needed.
That said, there’s a thread of truth running through this argument: self-perception is important, and if you feel ashamed of your masturbation or porn habits, it may be worth a conversation with your healthcare provider, regardless.
Are the purported benefits of NoFap real? Maybe not. But if the perceptions represented in its culture speak to you, maybe it’s worth talking to a professional about why you feel that way.
You may also want to learn more about the benefits of not ejaculating for 7 days.
The Risks of NoFap
If you’re interested in experiencing the alleged benefits of NoFap, you should also understand the potential risks. NoFap is not without its critics, controversies, and accusations of pseudoscience, but in the same way that there are more questions than answers about NoFap benefits, the risks aren’t fully understood, either.
Semen Retention
Some experts have argued that the risks of total masturbatory abstinence can reduce the quality of semen through a process called semen retention.
There’s very little research into the consequences and benefits of semen retention as a whole, but some research has looked into the outcomes as they relate to fertility. At least one study has suggested that after about four days, the quality of your sperm and the health of their respective DNA can experience negative effects of this ejaculatory gridlock.
However, the same research suggested that one day of ejaculatory abstinence can greatly improve chances of pregnancy, so there’s some truth to the idea of exercising a little self-control if you and your partner are trying to conceive.
Potentially Worsened Prostate Health
There is research linking regular ejaculation to a lowered risk of future prostate cancer. However, more studies are needed to prove that not ejaculating frequently will have a negative impact on your prostate health.
NoFap Alternatives: What Do You Really Need?
While you might not have a full-blown “porn addiction” that can be cured by a NoFap challenge, it can still be worthwhile to look into your mental health if you’re worried about your relationship to porn.
An excessive porn habit might be a side effect of a bigger problem like mood disorders — including depression or anxiety. If this is the case, you may want to seek therapeutic support.
Therapeutic techniques like cognitive behavioural therapy or CBT may be able to help you with those urges by helping you reframe negative thoughts about pornography and masturbation to better suit your ideal life.
They may also suggest the use of certain antidepressants as a treatment for premature ejaculation (PE), believe it or not. A side effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a popular category of antidepressants, is delayed ejaculation. Consequently, they’re prescribed off-label in some instances to help men suffering from this sexual dysfunction.
A mental health professional can provide this support, so if you’re suffering or noticing problems with your interpersonal relationships, it may be worth contacting one.
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A Final Word on NoFap: Can It Improve Your Sexual Health?
You probably came here with the intention of improving your sex life and general health, wondering if cutting out pornography use and changing your sexual behaviour was in your best interest.
Call us old-fashioned, but we’re just not convinced the answer to problems regarding addiction can be found on a Reddit thread. Help? Sure. Support? Absolutely.
But is quitting porn or giving up masturbation the best actionable remedies? Hardly.
Here’s the lowdown on NoFap, as we see it:
NoFap claims that porn and masturbation addiction cause problems. It allegedly may lead to brain fog, low self-esteem, and many other issues.
The claims that NoFap has made aren’t medical advice. They’re generally low on scientific support and high on anecdotal evidence. More research is needed to see what (if any) of their platform is valid.
If a habit is causing you distress, mental health support should be part of your plan to address it. This may be more useful than worrying about how much time you spend clicking around your favourite porn site.
Experts are available on the internet to help you. If you’re not feeling good about your porn use or masturbation habits, you might consider starting that professional conversation with online counselling.
If something more serious like erectile dysfunction is going on, it may be time to progress from internet sleuthing to a healthcare professional (and skipping Reddit altogether).
Consider reading our medically reviewed guides to premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction, and explore more viable treatments for PE and these science-backed ED treatments.
Then head back to Reddit when you’re ready for some memes.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The information contained herein is not a substitute for and should never be relied upon for professional medical advice. Always talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of any treatment or medication.