About a year ago, during a rough time in my life, I spent a lot of time (probably too much, actually) thinking about myself and my life. One of the unhappy points I came upon was that I didn't actually enjoy masturbating anymore. That may seem like an odd thing to hit upon, but masturbation has always been very important to me – it's the one time I really only think of myself and not others. It had become way too routine. It was always at night before I went to sleep, and always on my back, with little or no technique variation. Simply changing my masturbation habits made a big difference in the quality of my life, and it restored the joy of solo orgasm that I think I had lost for about 5 years.
- age 32, Oregon
This Week's Wackiest Response:
Usually around 3 p.m. every day I get an uncontrollable erection, and out of routine, I feel I must "handle" it. I have disrupted meetings and lost jobs due to this problem. Although I know that this behavior is unacceptable in the workplace, I feel compelled to do it. It's a shame that women aren't as understanding of this as I'd hoped – otherwise, I'd still have my first job.
- age 23, Pennsylvania
This happens to me all of the time. It regularly happens at bedtime. I think it's a holdover from when I was a teenager and bedtime was the only time during the day that I could have some privacy. Of course, the hormones made it necessary at that age. This doesn't happen every night anymore, but when I have problems getting to sleep, a little masturbation will usually help release whatever is keeping me awake. It's much safer and healthier than taking sleeping pills, so I think I'll keep doing it as long as it helps. Do these sessions feel different? Yes, they do. They aren't the mind-boggling, toe-curling, moan-inducing orgasms that I've had under different circumstances, but they're more of a comfort orgasm – a little release of tension. While we all need the exciting, paint-curling orgasms occasionally, I think we also need these little releases every now and again as well.
- age 24, Indiana
I often masturbate in bed at night, because that makes it easier for me to sleep. This is extremely helpful because I'm in college, have 8:00 a.m. classes, and often don't really feel sleepy until 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. Doing this in bed every night helps a lot, even if the orgasms are somewhat weaker than they would be otherwise.
- age 19, Indiana
It nearly always *starts* as a matter of routine these days, thanks to the deadening combination of age, medications, and the recent loss of my wife. When I was young, the urge always came first – I'd slide into a fantasy or a memory, and without my help, my penis would be standing at attention begging for a hand. When I go at it now, it's more like a chore; I'm masturbating because that's what men do, and besides, it's supposed to be good for your prostate. Yet once I get started, the old magic somehow comes back and takes over. The act usually takes longer, and sometimes my erection isn't all that completely hard. But the pleasure is as intense and the orgasm as powerful as any I ever had. I usually start on my feet and end on my knees, with my pelvis thrusting involuntarily as I ejaculate.
- age 63, Missouri
My routine is to masturbate every morning as soon as I get out of bed. Normally, my penis is fully erect at this time of day, and when this is so, I get an amazing feeling in my anal area and deep within my groin, with strong anal contractions occurring as semen starts to come out of my penis. This feeling is on the boundary between extreme pleasure and pain. However, occasionally when I wake, my penis is all shriveled up but I still decide to masturbate, just out of routine. It is very easy for me to get an erection, but when semen starts coming out, it feels completely different – more like an extreme tickle being satisfied along the length of my shaft and the feeling of urinating under water when you have an extremely full bladder.
- age 14, Iceland
I have gotten into a routine of masturbating every time I get into bed. Even for naps, I cannot fall asleep otherwise. Sometimes I masturbate just because I am bored.
- age 33, Pennsylvania (female)
Most days, when I get home from school, I head up to my room, talk to my friends online, put on my "away" message, and masturbate. This occurs not when I am feeling sexually aroused, but when I am bored and have nothing better to do. These sessions and orgasms feel good (duh...they're orgasms), but they are not satisfying. I find that my orgasms are most satisfying when I have "saved up" for a few days, and masturbate out of lust, not out of boredom.
- age 15, California
I masturbate pretty much every day. Occasionally I do it more than once, and in even rarer cases, I may skip a day (usually because circumstances arise that simply do not allow me the privacy to do it). A lot is known about the female cycle, but I think men have their cycles as well. Sometimes I am not easily aroused, but at other times, even the smallest thing can drive me to masturbate. With that in mind, during the times that I might be less aroused, masturbation is simply a nice thing I do to cap off my day. But if I am feeling especially randy, I might break from my routine and masturbate as needed. The difference between these two events is significant. If I am doing it as part of my routine, the orgasm may take longer to attain, and when it occurs, although extremely satisfying, it doesn't usually rank very high. But when I masturbate during the high point of my cycle, I find the time to orgasm can be measured in seconds. I have also noticed that if I am especially in the mood, the quantity of semen I expel has sometimes been quadruple the usual.
- age 35, Indiana
Often, when I have the opportunity (normally, this is privacy due to everyone in my family not being at home), I masturbate, despite not actually feeling the need. It is more so that I won't feel the need as strongly when I can't get any privacy. These orgasms are rarely as good as when "it needs to be done." They are best when the urge coincides with privacy and I can let myself go.
- age 16, Australia
I usually masturbate on Saturday mornings. This is my one day to sleep in, and I usually have the bedroom to myself for about an hour. I don't masturbate too much during the week (once or twice). Since I've held off most of the week and will be undisturbed for about an hour I look forward to my Saturday sessions, which are some of the best. Yes, Saturday orgasms are better than others, because I get to hang out and fully enjoy the whole experience.
- age 43, Washington
Most times, perhaps 9 out of 10, I do it only because it's part of my routine. I get truly horny – to the point that I *must* masturbate – maybe only once in two weeks. The ones where I'm really horny are always better, because I build up more semen and I have amazing orgasms.
- age 15, California
I'm a senior, so "routine" would hardly be a word to describe my masturbating. As a matter of fact, I don't think that I ever masturbated because of a routine when I was younger. In other words, I usually masturbated at night before I went to sleep – but it was not "pee, take a shower, say my prayers, hop into bed, and masturbate" every night. Often, I would masturbate earlier; some days I wouldn't do it at all. It was just the best and most convenient time of the day for me to be alone, relax, and to take the time to "enjoy." I will say that these sessions were the most gratifying.
- age 71, Ohio
I masturbate once or twice every day even if I don't need to masturbate at that time. Even if I'm not aroused, I still masturbate and ejaculate just because of my masturbating routine. The orgasms don't feel any different from the others, but the sessions feel forced.
- age 17, Maryland
Masturbating before bed helps me fall asleep. It makes me feel more relaxed, and I can fall asleep faster and sleep better. But sometimes, I like to masturbate even though I am already extremely tired and lack the energy – usually after I come home from a late night out. I can barely stay awake, but it feels really good when finally I climax, because it causes me to pass out on the spot. A few times I've even fallen asleep mid-session without getting to finish.
- age 27, California
A couple years back I remember masturbating every day just because I thought I should, and I was determined not to write in when I was 17 asking why I don't masturbate as much anymore. But then I realized I should only masturbate when I feel like it, which turns out to be 3 to 4 times a week – and that's fine. Some guys seem to worry that if they don't do it every day, their parts will rust. Believe me – it won't happen. Orgasms are better when spaced apart, anyway.
- age 17, Illinois
"Hmm...It's 4:30 on an odd-numbered day; that means it's time to masturbate." No, that scenario doesn't apply to me. As an adolescent, I masturbated nightly to relieve the pressure and enjoy the intense arousal. It wasn't a routine so much as a guaranteed way to release the pressure and assure a good night's sleep. Those years have long since passed. Now my schedule, my free time, and my arousal determine when I masturbate. I have discovered, however, that when the academic year ends in early May, I tend to masturbate far more frequently than I have in the months before. Soon that frequency tapers off – not because I'm tired of any "routine," but because I've finally relieved myself sufficiently following the hectic last weeks of the academic year.
- age 63, Michigan
I masturbated for the first time because I had "blue balls." I was in such pain that I found a way to make it stop. Now, I masturbate for pleasure, but I often find that when I haven't masturbated in a while, I masturbate without always wanting to because of my fear of that pain.
- age 18, North Carolina
When I was a schoolboy, I masturbated at the same times every day: when I woke up, when I got home from school, and when I went to bed. The orgasms felt the same all the time – very good. Later, before I got married, I masturbated every night when I went to bed, to "clean out the pipes." Again, the orgasms were all the same. Now, I'm 71 years old and masturbate whenever possible, but not always at the same time. Same result – the orgasms feel wonderful. I can't imagine a bad orgasm.
- age 71, California
I find that if I go more than a week without masturbating, I have the urge simply to ejaculate. So, I usually go for a quickie before I go to sleep, and yes, these are the less enjoyable orgasms. I only wish that I could have better sessions as I did when I was 13. I also find that I really don't have time to go all out anymore. I have school and work, and I never have time for much else. Well, I guess I will just have to devote whole days to masturbation over the summer, or maybe a whole week.
- age 17, California
I live alone, so I wear mostly just my boxers around the house. I constantly find myself masturbating without realizing it – whether it is watching TV, surfing the net, or sometimes talking on the phone. The left hand feels most comfortable in my pants while the right hand feels most comfortable holding a drink, a TV remote, or a dirty magazine. These sessions are the norm for me – it feels all right, but since it is so frequent, some of the magic isn't always there. I have to hold off on the masturbating and the drinking and then take my time with some lube and different techniques and stimuli from the norm – maybe a new porn movie or something to really break up the routine or "wow" myself.
- age 26, Arizona
I masturbate every day, but very rarely is it because I've gotten really turned on. In college and sharing a room, it's very difficult to do it on a need-to-get-off basis. I masturbate when my roommate is in class and I know he won't be around for a while, but it's totally just routine and my orgasms are rarely more than a quick shiver. Doing it this way, with the habitual daily release, I find that I don't get really turned on while I'm out for the day – which mostly means I don't have to worry about trying to rush back to my room with a raging erection only to find him sitting there watching TV with a friend. Though it's kind of handy to masturbate when he's gone, I'd kill for the chance to have a really great orgasm just when I need it.
- age 19, Ohio
For some reason, every day when I get home from school, I masturbate. I'm not always in the mood; it's just a routine thing I do every day. The orgasm isn't as good as when I'm in the mood, but I am still pleased when I am done.
- age 15, Kentucky
I almost always really want to masturbate and customarily do so at least once every day. On those rare occasions when I'm not quite in the mood, I start masturbating anyway to get in the mood, because I know I'll soon be very glad I did – I always am! Once I get going, the masturbation and the orgasm feel every bit as good as the 30,000-plus I've already had.
- age 69, California
There have been times where I feel I have just done it even though I was not in the mood. These times are definitely not as enjoyable as other times. Afterward, I have found myself thinking: "Why did I just do that? I didn't even really need or want to. I could have done something else with my time!" I have learned to masturbate only when I am really horny.
- age 17, Vermont
Yes – I call it "maintenance."
- age 45, Georgia
Whether I masturbate from routine or because I have a strong need, the sessions are always the same. I usually masturbate on Mondays simply because I don't masturbate on Sundays (due to religious convictions). There is no reason other than that I haven't cranked one out in two or three days and I want to. At other times, such as when I'm stressed, I masturbate simply to relieve stress. These are not the best orgasms, but they still do the job, and I will keep on doing them.
- age 16, California
I find that when I work a night shift, I masturbate about 8 a.m., as it helps me to get to sleep. I feel the orgasms are less intense than when I masturbate because I am horny. I have found through talking to others that they are the same – they do it more out of habit than being in the mood. But then I wonder how many are actually in the mood because they have done it regularly at the same time. Either way, out of habit or because I'm in the mood, I love to do it and I thank JackinWorld for showing me that there's more than one way!
- age 42, Australia
Sometimes when I am lying in bed watching TV, I find myself masturbating. I'm not necessarily turned on by anything, and I don't always care about reaching orgasm; half the time, I don't even notice that I started. I just get bored and it's a force of habit. When I do go all the way to orgasm when I masturbate out of boredom, the climaxes are usually even better than normal, because I do it slowly and take my time, whereas when I try to get an orgasm I try to get it as fast as possible, and it's never as intense.
- age 17, Alberta, Canada
My body tends to get into rhythms when it comes to masturbating. I usually masturbate right before my shower, late at night, so my body's used to being aroused around that time and will become slightly aroused as if to say, "Hey, it's time!" if I haven't shown an interest in masturbating. These sessions feel different, more detached, and I'm not as aroused as I would be if I'd initiated it out of want. It's kind of like going to a family reunion when you don't like your family: You go, you do, you get out.
- age 20, Texas (female)
Sometimes when I first wake up in the morning, I notice that my hand is gently rubbing my penis. I guess I masturbate so much that it's become habit. I don't usually get orgasms from these, though I do get a lot of pre-ejaculate and this has become a problem because it gets all over my sheets, which usually leads to talks with my mom.
- age 14, Florida
I've been masturbating every morning for as long as I can remember. I do think it's more out of a habit than a want or need. Sometimes these sessions are awesome, but other times, my orgasms feel very different – almost blah.
- age 50, California
I used to – I used to masturbate every night as soon as I closed my door and got into bed. I would play the same cassette every night to get to sleep, as I needed the familiar background music. I even became conditioned to become aroused whenever I heard the song that featured first on the tape, even if it was playing in a shopping mall! The sessions would usually feel just as good, except when I was stressed out about something. These days, my daily routine is too varied, and I regularly share my bed and my body with my partner, so a routine isn't possible.
- age 20, Australia (female)
I often find myself masturbating out of routine. I sit at my desk and play with my penis through my pants all the time. I sometimes masturbate to orgasm that way and not even realize it. Do those sessions feel different? Of course! I don't even notice them sometimes, and suddenly I'm creaming my pants and thinking, "Oh jeez, I did it again!"
- age 37, Massachusetts
Even though my mom and older sister know that I masturbate, it is nice masturbate when nobody is home and I have the house to myself. This usually happens on Saturday and/or Sunday afternoons; and sometimes, even though I don't really need to, I "just do it" – nice and slow when nobody is around. I often wish I had waited, because the orgasm wasn't so intense or I wasn't really horny. I just did it to do it.
- age 14, Florida
All the time – sometimes I just feel plain horny and will ejaculate two or three times in a single night and still feel unsatisfied, and others I'll go for several weeks without any urge to do anything (and isn't that *great* afterward!). Usually, though – sadly, I guess – it is just routine: masturbate to orgasm and then nod off to sleep. It makes you wonder why when the orgasm isn't usually all that great, either. In the last couple of months, though, instead of wiping up my semen, I've started swallowing it. It started as a kind of "how-can-I-expect-her-to-do-it-if-I-won't" thing, but now, I wonder if ejaculating before sleep is more a case of "taking your medicine"!
- age 23, Australia
I have been masturbating since the 7th grade (summer after 6th grade) and I am a freshman in college now. Now and then, I do find myself lying on my bed and masturbating just because I am so used to it. There would be no reason for it; I would just be lying on my bed thinking about nothing, and the next thing I know, my pants are off, my right hand is around my penis, and I am masturbating...not a bad thing at all.
- age 20, Pennsylvania
I often have sessions that I am not in the mood for. I have "masturbation hour," when I usually look at pornography or other stimulating images and then just do it. I'm not always feeling good, but I know I will have a sense of relief and relaxation if I go through with it. The orgasms feel a bit different than, say, if I haven't masturbated in a few days; they just feel relaxing, not necessarily good.
- age 17, Illinois
When I was younger, I did masturbate by routine, and sometimes had to work hard for an orgasm or got tired. During my drinking years, I wanted to masturbate after drinking, but frequently, I couldn't. Now that I'm in my middle age and sober, I masturbate when I get the urge, and the climax is great – better than all the years before. So is sex with my wife.
- age 58, Illinois
Whenever my parents and siblings are gone, I feel like I'd better do it while I have the chance. This way I can moan as loudly as I want and take my time. It has become routine, but my favorite visual aids help to maintain the great orgasms.
- age 17, Canada
"Masturbaro ergo sum" – or perhaps more accurately, "Sum ergo masturbaro"!
- age 58, Arizona
Since the first month of wanking, when I was ejaculating 3 or 4 times a day, I have tried to masturbate only when my penis stays erect all day. Sometimes I can hold out for almost two weeks, when I have an almighty "explosion"; at other times, I can only keep away from it for a few hours (just getting into a warm bath can bring me very close to orgasm). Therefore I don't have any routine (unlike my brother, who does it first thing every Sunday morning, regardless of whether it takes him 20 seconds or 20 minutes to climax).
- age 13, United Kingdom
Every morning in the shower I find myself in the same routine – the showerhead gets me off with its jets of water, whether I'm horny or not. At this point, it has become part of my daily schedule. It's almost as if I can't get out of the shower without masturbating.
- age 21, New York
I've just recently quit smoking, and it's not until now have I noticed the connection between it and masturbation. I'm a student and spend all my time working on my studies, so I have little time alone that I'm not occupied. I found that whenever I was outside, I would smoke, simply because that was the time that I could. The same goes for masturbation: Every night, before I go to sleep, I masturbate simply to feel relaxed. The sad thing is that many nights I'm quite tired and relaxed, yet I can't go to sleep because I feel the need to rub one out for the sake of routine.
- age 18, Kentucky
I think my masturbation has gotten to a point that you could call "routine." It's like my hand is a magnet to my penis. If I start, I have to finish, no matter what. My orgasm feels like any normal orgasm, and I wish that it could last longer than usual. My orgasms don't feel much different from one another. Sometimes when I have time, I touch my penis up and down for about 5 minutes and then masturbate; then it kind of feels different.
- age 15, Arizona
Personally, if I don't masturbate daily, I become aroused at just about anything remotely sexual. A girl I would think looks okay becomes extremely hot. It's not even a question for me; it's got to be every day. It's a routine that I need to keep up with.
- age 18, Virginia
I masturbate every evening after work, normally in the shower. The sessions normally are different because I'm not masturbating from being turned on, but simply to get it done and relax. It's very mechanical, and the need is to "get the sperm out" – not to enjoy the session. The orgasm is not the high point, but rather just the release. During these mechanical sessions, the orgasm is not very intense. The reward is that after I'm done, I totally relax, and all the day's stress seems to go away.
- age 30, Maryland
If I go camping, I know that if I don't masturbate for more than 3 days or so, I will end up having a "wet dream," something that is not easy to clean up in a sleeping bag! Therefore, I have to masturbate when I'm in the shower at the campsite – purely so that I will ejaculate. It's not usually enjoyable, because it is forced and hurried.
- age 18, United Kingdom
Whenever my mother is not around, I always seem to have my hands down my boxers playing with my penis; they just creep in and I'm not aware of it. Often, I get an erection, and before I know it my flies are undone, penis out, and I'm pumping away.
- age 16, United Kingdom
There have been plenty of times when I've done it out of a sense of obligation – the conditions were right and I might not have a chance later, etc. I guess these sessions are physically satisfying, but nothing beats the rush of getting really turned on to the point where I can't stand it anymore and I just have to get off.
- age 22, Tennessee (female)
Like lots of people, I find that I need to wank regularly, but this means that I rarely go any time without, and if I do, I have even found myself making up for it by waking up in the night with an erection – at the same time each night. At these times, for me, it's just a case of ease down the boxers and pull myself off quickly. I usually ejaculate into my boxers, anyway (to save time and cleanup problems), and then I just quickly go back to sleep. It feels different because it's more of a habit, as opposed to when I really want to wank because of the thoughts I'm having or people I've seen who turn me on. Often a quick wank in the night can be followed or preceded by a thought-driven one. So it does feel different, but in its own way it's just as nice.
- age 20, Wales, United Kingdom