I remember hearing about it from one of those sexual health doctors on Loveline or something when I was younger. I also read it in one of the Atomic Doc articles, of which here’s the excerpt:
"Avoidance of Masturbation �?? A study conducted in 1978 found that young men experienced a rise in DHT and Testosterone levels after masturbation, while an earlier study found a rise in T in one male subject after intercourse but not after masturbation.
The researchers involved in the former study reasoned that the subject hadn’t any emotional involvement with the source of his autoerotic behavior and thus didn’t have a corresponding rise in T. Obviously, he didn’t have the Charlie’s Angel hand puppet that I use and love, or a subscription to the Victoria’s Secret catalog, whose models always make me sing, make me dance, make me happy in my pants."
Perhaps I am wrong about the whole thing. I looked into it with some research sources, and this is what I’ve come up with so far. I’ll look into it further when I’ve got more time. It seems there isn’t much of a change in testosterone from either sex or masturbation, which I’m pretty sure some studies showed there were, so these may be limited. Anyway, always need more sources to validate something, but here’s stuff so far.
Most of the research I came across says either no change in T with orgasm, sex or masturbation, or that there is an increase in T with short-term abstinence (1-3 weeks).
Neuroendocrine and cardiovascular response to sexual arousal and orgasm in men. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1998 May;23(4):401-11.
Data regarding the neuroendocrine response pattern to sexual arousal and orgasm in man are inconsistent. In this study, ten healthy male volunteers were continuously monitored for their cardiovascular and neuroendocrine response to sexual arousal and orgasm. Blood was continuously drawn before, during and after masturbation-induced orgasm and analyzed for plasma concentrations of adrenaline, noradrenaline, cortisol, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin, growth hormone (GH), beta-endorphin and testosterone. Orgasm induced transient increases in heart rate, blood pressure and noradrenaline plasma levels. Prolactin plasma levels increased during orgasm and remained elevated 30 min after orgasm. In contrast, none of the other endocrine variables were significantly affected by sexual arousal and orgasm.
Endocrine response to masturbation-induced orgasm in healthy men following a 3-week sexual abstinence. World J Urol. 2001 Nov;19(5):377-82.
This current study examined the effect of a 3-week period of sexual abstinence on the neuroendocrine response to masturbation-induced orgasm. Hormonal and cardiovascular parameters were examined in ten healthy adult men during sexual arousal and masturbation-induced orgasm. Blood was drawn continuously and cardiovascular parameters were constantly monitored. This procedure was conducted for each participant twice, both before and after a 3-week period of sexual abstinence. Plasma was subsequently analysed for concentrations of adrenaline, noradrenaline, cortisol, prolactin, luteinizing hormone and testosterone concentrations. Orgasm increased blood pressure, heart rate, plasma catecholamines and prolactin. These effects were observed both before and after sexual abstinence. In contrast, although plasma testosterone was unaltered by orgasm, higher testosterone concentrations were observed following the period of abstinence. These data demonstrate that acute abstinence does not change the neuroendocrine response to orgasm but does produce elevated levels of testosterone in males.
Specificity of the neuroendocrine response to orgasm during sexual arousal in men. J Endocrinol. 2003 Apr;177(1):57-64.
We have demonstrated that sexual activity produces transient sympathoadrenal activation and a pronounced, long-lasting increase in prolactin in men and women. However, by analyzing endocrine alterations at 10-min intervals, a precise assignment of these changes to the pre-, peri- and postorgasmic periods was not possible. Thus, the current study aimed to accurately differentiate the endocrine response to sexual arousal and orgasm in men using an automatic blood collection technique with 2-min sampling intervals. Blood was drawn continuously before, during and after orgasm over a total period of 40 min in 10 healthy subjects and were compared with samples obtained under a control condition. Sexual activity induced transient increases of plasma epinephrine and norepinephrine levels during orgasm with a rapid decline thereafter. In contrast, prolactin levels increased immediately after orgasm and remained elevated throughout the experiment. Although oxytocin was acutely increased after orgasm, these changes were not consistent and did not reach statistical significance. Vasopressin, LH, FSH and testosterone plasma concentrations remained unaltered during sexual arousal and orgasm. These data confirm that prolactin is secreted after orgasm and, compared with oxytocin, seems to represent a more reliable and sustained marker for orgasm in man. The results further reinforce a role for prolactin either as a neuroendocrine reproductive reflex or as a feedback mechanism modulating dopaminergic systems in the central nervous system that are responsible for appetitive behavior.
Periodic changes in serum testosterone levels after ejaculation in men. Sheng Li Xue Bao. 2002 Dec 25;54(6):535-8.
The purpose of this study was to determine the changes in sex hormone level in men after ejaculation. The serum testosterone concentrations of 28 male volunteers were investigated daily during abstinence period after ejaculation. We found that fluctuations of testosterone levels from day 2 to day 5 of abstinence were minimal. On day 7 of abstinence, a peak of serum testosterone appeared, reaching 145.7% of the baseline (P<0.01). After the peak, no regular fluctuation was observed. Ejaculation was the premise and beginning of the 7 days' periodic phenomenon. If there was no ejaculation, there was no periodical changes in serum testosterone level. These results indicate that the periodic change in serum testosterone level is caused by ejaculation.
A research on the relationship between ejaculation and serum testosterone level in men. J Zhejiang Univ Sci. 2003 Mar-Apr;4(2):236-40.
The purpose of this study is to gain understanding of the relationship between ejaculation and serum testosterone level in men. The serum testosterone concentrations of 28 volunteers were investigated daily during abstinence periods after ejaculation for two phases. The authors found that the fluctuations of testosterone levels from the 2nd to 5th day of abstinence were minimal. On the 7th day of abstinence, however, a clear peak of serum testosterone appeared, reaching 145.7% of the baseline ( P < 0.01). No regular fluctuation was observed following continuous abstinence after the peak. Ejaculation is the precondition and beginning of the special periodic serum testosterone level variations, which would not occur without ejaculation. The results showed that ejaculation-caused variations were characterized by a peak on the 7th day of abstinence; and that the effective time of an ejaculation is 7 days minimum. These data are the first to document the phenomenon of the periodic change in serum testosterone level; the correlation between ejaculation and periodic change in the serum testosterone level, and the pattern and characteristics of the periodic change.