Apparently, members of the notorious image board known as 4chan are now quitting the act of fapping.  My god… what is the world cumming to!?!  And, it seems to all be revolving around the post I wrote a few months ago called, The Effects of Male Masturbation on Attracting Women.

In the last week or so there have been multiple threads on the 4chan board /r9k/ where some of the guys are experimenting with the “7 Day Abstinence Cycle” which I discuss in the article as an effective way of taking advantage of your body’s peak testosterone levels along with other advantages controlled by the central nervous system in order to help attract women.  Of course, with most discussions on the Internet, it is ripe with debate including the usual fan boys, trolls, and detractors.

After reading through some of the threads, there are a few questions and criticisms from the brobots that I’d like to discuss as a follow up to the original male masturbation post.

The Magic Pill

First, abstaining from ejaculation is NOT a means to an end.  If you happen to go seven full days without masturbating, there will be no buxom blond genie that appears out of thin air and bangs the shit out of you. My friends, this is not a magic pill solution, it is merely one tool in the grand scheme of the overall attraction process.  For example, residing yourself to your mother’s basement for seven days straight isn’t going to do much of anything, regardless of your fapping habits.  You still need to make an effort to go out, meet and interact with women.

The Placebo Effect

There are some that say that this whole seven day cycle nonsense is merely a placebo effect. Basically, indicating that the seven day cycle has no effects on your body and that the only reason that someone would have positive results is because their belief in it tricked them into getting the results they wanted.

Well, I’m not a scientist, so yea, maybe this whole thing is bullshit.  However, I did point out in my original article at least three sources of research published in respectable scientific journals which do indicate there is some merit to the seven day abstinence cycle.  They include:

• A research on the relationship between ejaculation and serum testosterone level in men
• Pharmacological and physiological aspects of sexual exhaustion in male rats
• Subjective Experiences During Dopamine Depletion

Also, for the sake of argument, lets say that it is a placebo effect.  If someone is getting the results they desire, i.e. - attracting more women into their life, then who the hell cares what the cause is?!  If a placebo is going to aid me in shagging that hottie at the end of the bar, then I could care less, the result is still the same.

To a scientist this may sound like sacrilege, but I’m not a scientist, I just want to get laid.

The Seven Day Cycle

Some people are taking the seven day cycle too strictly and/or confusing it.  In the original article I try to explain that seven days of abstinence is needed to reach your peak in testosterone, because on day seven testosterone production spikes 147%.  Now this does not mean that you can or should masturbate on day seven. In fact, if you are following the seven day cycle, you shouldn’t masturbate until AFTER day 7 in order to get the full effects.  It would be even more beneficial, in my opinion, to wait until 10 days, so as to give you three days of testosterone pumping horny male motivation.

So why even masturbate at all?  Well, hopefully if you are getting laid, then you shouldn’t have to.  However, in the event that you aren’t getting any action, it is still helpful to masturbate from time to time as to release tension and to remind your body that you are or want to be sexually active.  For example, some people have reported that extended time periods (more than a month) of no ejaculation had severely lowered their sex drive as to not wanting to masturbate or pursue sexual intercourse at all.

Testosterone and Dopamine

Then there are some people who are focusing too much on the testosterone discussion.  Increased testosterone by itself is not going to attract women.  It’s what testosterone does for your body that will help you to attract women.  And yes, there are other ways to increase testosterone levels other than abstinence, like regular exercise or a healthier diet for example.

Also, keep in mind the third study that I cited regarding dopamine depletion.  In that study, it showed that men who were excessively depleted of their dopamine levels through ejaculation had shown signs of depression, irritability and social anxiety.  So guys that have chronic masturbatory regimes, wanking-off multiple times per day every day, are likely depleting their dopamine which contributes to their depression, anxiety and anti-social behaviors.

Don’t Whack It Until You’ve Tried It

There are some things in life that we either do not have the resources or knowledge to test for ourselves, this is not one of them.  This experiment is something that every male with a little will power can try.  So before you cast doubt, why not just give it a go?  Not jerking off for seven days isn’t going to kill you, so what’s the harm?  Give it a shot, observe what happens, then reassess if it is for you or not.

“Its not that masturbating is bad for you, its just that sex is a biological imperative. Everything you do is ultimately to get fucked.  So if you’re jerking it all the time your body is in ‘I’m getting it all the time, might as well not even try’ mode.”

- Anonymous

Tips for Abstaining from Masturbation

For those willing to try this out, I will tell you that it is difficult the first 2-3 days, but it can be done, especially if you put up road blocks to help prevent the urge.  Here are a few tips that have helped me:

• If you have a porn folder on your computer, get rid of it. You don’t have to delete it permanently, just move it to a flash drive and put it somewhere inconvenient to access.
• If you go to any regular pron sites on the web like RedTube, YouPorn or xHamster then add blocks to those sites on your browser. I know you can simply remove the blocks if you get super horny but it helps to keep you from spontaneously cumbursting
• Exercise.  When you get the urge to fap, do some push-ups or go for a run.  I’ve noticed that regular exercise somehow helps to relieve the horniness
• Only go to bed when you are tired and ready to fall asleep.  Don’t watch TV in bed.   If you are just laying there doing nothing, then one thing is bound to lead to the other…
• When all else fails, turn to Courage Wolf…

It’s a self experiment, let me explain. There is a theory floating around that basically says that if a man abstains from ejaculating he will be more likely to pursue and attract females. There are a few different thoughts on why people might believe this, ranging from fluctuating testosterone levels to general horniness. Lets explore further, shall we.

Personal Masturbation Experiment

During the last year, I’ve been attempting to go on and off in my personal masturbation habits. Some weeks, I try to abstain from wanking and some weeks I treat my body like my own personal amusement park. Obviously, abstaining from masturbation is the more difficult of the two tasks, however, with a little will power I managed to pull off a week of no ejaculating here and there, enough to make some general observations about my behavior as it relates to the dating world.

The first noticeable observation when abstaining from masturbation was that I was definitely more horny. No big surprise there. However, I believe that having that feeling of pent up sexual tension helped me to approach and talk to more women, as well as be more sexual around them. For instance, as opposed to approaching and having a casual friendly conversation, I was likely to use more sexual innuendos and be more direct about my intentions.

The second big observation from abstinence was my level of motivation. Not just motivation to go out and meet women, but my motivation to do other productive things in life, like exercising or writing for example. This was the complete opposite on weeks where I masturbated on a frequent basis. I’d just sit around the house all day watching TV, surfing the web and…uhh masturbating.

Effects of Ejaculation on Testosterone and Sexual Activity

What is testosterone?

a potent androgenic hormone produced chiefly by the testes; responsible for the development of male secondary sex characteristics

Essentially, testosterone is what helps makes a man a man. It’s responsible for developing muscle and overall body fitness, not an unusual trait in an alpha male. Also, it helps to charge the male libido and sex drive.

So what’s testosterone have to do with masturbation?  Testosterone is produced in the testicles and when you ejaculate you are releasing or using up some of that testosterone. This is fine when you are having intercourse with your desired partner, that is the whole point after all, but not fine when a chronic masturbation habit is leaving you drained of testosterone and limiting you from your true sexual potential.

In 2003, there was a research study done on the testosterone levels in males during certain periods of abstaining from ejaculation. It found that there was a gradual increase in testosterone levels during the first five days but on days six and seven there was a huge spike, up to a 147% increase in testosterone on day seven. After day seven, testosterone levels returned to normal, thus indicating that seven days is the effective number of days to abstain from ejaculating in order to hit peak levels of testosterone.

In another paper published in the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, a group of male rats was studied during post-ejaculation and sexual exhaustion phases. One of their findings was that, after 4 days, only 63% of the males were able to show sexual behavior while after 7 days all males were getting it on in a giant rodent orgy. Again, this indicating that seven days is the optimal time between male ejaculation periods.

From my personal experience, I’ve noticed that usually between days five and seven of abstinence, are also the days when I’m able to get more make-outs or bring women home, usually as a result of being more motivated to sexually escalate those interactions.

The Loaded Gun Theory

If you’ve ever watched the movie, “Something About Mary”, you may remember the following infamous scene:

The Loaded Gun Theory states that by masturbating before going out to meet women will leave you calm and relaxed as opposed to nervous. Supposedly, this calm and relaxed state will keep you from doing something stupid and hence aid in the attraction process.

In my opinion, this is the wrong way to look at this. You want to have a loaded gun! You are an alpha male, you are a hunter in search of your prey. The nervousness only comes from the stereotypical Ben Stiller character and not the extra baby batter. If anything, the pent up sexual demand seems like it would make you more confident and motivated in your female interactions.

The Seinfeld Abstinence Theory

In one episode of Seinfeld, George quits having sex because his girlfriend has mono. This now lack of sex causes George to become motivated to learn and turns into a genius. The theory being that without the distraction of sex on a man’s brain, he’s able to focus his thoughts on other more productive pursuits.

I think this theory only has it half right. I don’t agree that abstinence will relieve the distraction of sex, but will actually amplify it, at least in the short term. As someone who has gone for more than seven days without ejaculating, I know that it’s almost impossible not to think about sex. However, despite that sex will likely always be a distraction for any red blooded male, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t an underlying psychological self improvement motivation factor involved in abstinence. I’ll talk more about this next.

Effects of Ejaculation on Dopamine Levels

What is dopamine?

a monoamine neurotransmitter found in the brain and essential for the normal functioning of the central nervous system

Dopamine has many functions in the brain, including important roles in behavior and cognition, motor activity, motivation and reward, inhibition ofprolactin production, sleep, mood, attention, and learning.

Essentially dopamine, manufactured in the brain, has a whole bunch roles in how our nervous system works. It’s also particularly important in orgasms. When we ejaculate our brain releases a bunch of dopamine acting like a euphoric drug producing an orgasm. However, as the above definition states it also effects the function of other areas of the nervous system which are vital to our daily living like sleep, mood, learning, motivation etc.

Dopamine as stated above, is used by our bodies as a reward mechanism. For instance, when we eat something that tastes good, our brain rewards us by releasing a small amount of dopamine, thus helping to create and reinforce behavior which the body believes is good for you. The same is true of sex, as humans beings we are hard wired to procreate. And the only way to procreate is to pursue sex with the opposite gender, which we will be rewarded by a huge release of dopamine (an orgasm) when successful.

It’s also important to note that when dopamine levels are low and depleted, it will have an adverse effect on other areas of the central nervous system which rely on dopamine to function properly. For example, in one study published in the American Journal of Psychology, it showed the effects of male volunteers who had their dopamine levels deliberately depleted over a 42 hour period of time. During that 42 hours, the normally healthy social males experienced negative symptoms like obsessive-compulsiveness, thought disorders, social anxiety and depression.

So, one could say that too much ejaculation, to the point of depleting your dopamine levels on a regular basis, is going to have an adverse effect on your daily lifestyle.

Savage’s Theory of Behavioral Ejaculation Reinforcement

If a man is motivated and pursues the act of becoming an alpha male, he will attract desirable females. This eventually leads to sexual intercourse with those desirable females and is rewarded with orgasms. This reward reinforces the alpha male behavior that was needed to attract a desirable female in the first place, prompting the male to continue the traits that helped him become alpha, thus perpetuating the cycle and continuing the supply of desirable mates.

If a man is lazy, unmotivated and relies on masturbation as his main form of sexual activity, he is unnaturally creating a false reward for traits that are undesirable in potential female mates. This false reward tricks the body into thinking that it is pursuing alpha male qualities when in reality it is pursuing beta male qualities. This cycle also perpetuates itself by continually being satisfied with the act of masturbation rather than the pursuit of desirable females.

Conclusions on Male Masturbation

If you are still with me, you probably might think I am completely against male masturbation, but I’m not. For one, this is a very debatable topic and I’m sure many readers will offer up evidence supporting masturbation as perfectly natural and acceptable, and please by all means add to this conversation, as I am very much in pursuit of truth like any one else.

For now though, I’m sticking to my theory that regular masturbation on a daily basis will have an adverse effect on my ability to attract women.  So, I’m personally sticking to the “7 day cycle.” The concept is that I abstain from masturbating and if I haven’t had sexual intercourse within seven days, then I’m allowed to masturbate and relieve myself. This allows for the testosterone and sexual motivation to increase throughout the week and hopefully peak around the weekend when I’m more likely to be out on the prowl.

Has anyone else experimented or noticed any personal changes when abstaining from masturbation for a long period of time?  Any other thoughts, opinions, criticisms, verbal lashings?  Leave ‘em below in the comments.  And if nothing else, please think of the kittens:)

Update May 1st, 2009 - I have written a follow-up to this post here: Fapping with 4chan

The bartender is leaning over the bar, staring at me, waiting for a response.

She is a cute petite hipster girl with short black hair, a nose piercing and a witty sense of humor.  Oh, and she’s a lesbian too.  This is Bartender Jaimie.

“Alright, what do you have in mind”

“I have two double shot glasses behind the bar, one with your name on it, and you can have anything you want in it, what do you think?” she asks

“Hmm, you drive a hard bargain, but ok,” I say, “how ’bout a black sambuca… chilled?”

“Uggghhhh gag… I’d rather suck a hundred cocks than drink that shit” she says in disgust

“Ha, well personally, I think I’ll stick with the shot”

As Bartender Jaimie begins whipping up some drinks, I turn my head to the left and notice an attractive slender red head.  She has tattoos running down her arms, a pale white face and a devious smile.  She looks like she could pose for the suicide girls.  In fact, there are a number of hipster girls in the pub tonight, many of them very bangable.

This happens every Monday night when Bartender Jaimie is working.  All the hot lesbian hipster girls come out to play.  Yet here I am, a straight pick-up artist dressed in what I like to call “lumberjack sexual” and totally out of my league.  Shit, I’m not even playing the same game.  It’s complete torture!

Part of me wants to believe that deep down inside, at least some of these girls are bisexual.  I’ve already had some success in attracting straight hipster girls, so I don’t see why I couldn’t step things up a notch and try to seduce some lesbians.  I mean really, is that too much to ask?

“Here’s your fucking swill water” Jaimie says as she slides the shot over

We toast.  I suck down my double Sambuca.  She sucks down a double Jameson.  It’s hardcore.

“So, we should hit up the strippers sometime… what’d ya think?” she says in a casual tone

Damn, I love hipster girls.

At some point in the night, who knows what time, I feel something moving…

The edge of my blanket begins to slowly slide down my chest, inching it’s way downward. It’s enough to wake me, yet I’m paralyzed with fear. Shit, is someone in my apartment?

I grab hold of the blanket from underneath the covers and yank it back up to my neck, holding it there firmly.

I slowly open my eyes expecting to see some psycho with a gun pointed at my face. There is nothing. I try to swallow the giant lump in my throat and gain some composure.

As I lay perfectly still, clutching my blanket, I scan the dark room for anything suspicious.

A chill comes over my whole body, as my head turns to focus on the bedroom doorway. A multitude of panicked obscenities fill my head.

Oh shit… mother fucker… ohh fuck…

It’s standing in the doorway. I don’t think it’s a person. It appears to be almost see through. An apparition. A fucking ghost encounter!

It’s just standing there swaying back and forth next to the window. What do I do?

Ok, calm down, get a hold of yourself, it’s probably nothing, just a shadow perhaps. I close my eyes in the hopes it will be gone when they reopen. One, two, three…

Shiiiitttt! Still there.

The ghost is staring me down. Why does this shit have to happen to me? I have enough to deal with in my life, I don’t need this afterlife drama. What the hell do I do??

Then it hits me. Ghost Busters. Remember that opening scene where they have the ghost encounters at the New York Public Library? The whole plan was, “Get Her.”

That’s it. That’s my plan, get her. Screw you ghost, I’m just gonna flip out and go ape shit on your ass.

I take a long deep breath, then, in a rage of fury I whip my covers off, lunge for the light switch and spring to a crouching tiger stance while letting out my battle cry.

“YAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!”

The light is now on. There is nothing there. My rapid breathing begins to slow down. I’m standing on top of my bed like a retarded ninja. This is pathetic.

I begin walking around my entire apartment turning on every light. I grab my all purpose weapon of choice, a 3-D chrome Mag-Lite, heavy enough to beat down a real person but with enough candle power to vaporize Gozer herself.

I begin examining the entire apartment when I notice an empty container of Chinese food sitting on my coffee table. It suddenly dawns on me what my pre-slumber activities included. I had gone to the bar and ended up drinking my usual pints of Guinness, but also included a shot of Jager, a shot of Sambuca, and topped it off with a late night feast of spicy curry dumplings.

Was it really a ghost? My guess, it was nothing more than a toxic stew of alcohol and curry filled hallucinations. Oh, and I wasn’t wearing my glasses or contact lenses, which without I am pretty much blind.

Epilogue

I see something like this ghost story as being a great opener for a pick up artist or even better, a DHV (demonstration of higher value) story.  At the least, I think it’ll be a great conversation starter.  I’ll be testing out various versions this week and will let you guys know how it goes.

Anyone else have tales of crazy ghost encounters?  Has anyone used a ghost story to seduce someone?