SOME old folks said pleasuring yourself is bad.

It could be true especially if the pleasure is derived from pornography which led to too much masturbation, causing a wave of sexual problems and warped views of sex.

But a study showed that abstaining from pleasuring yourself is also bad — and could raise the risk of anxiety, depression and erectile dysfunction.

A report from DailyMail said women should do it once a week at least (and consider masturbating during their menstrual cycle for pain relief).

With managing one’s premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and menstruation woes like pain, one would want to self-pleasure more than once per month.

A sex expert interviewed by DailyMail said masturbating raises blood flow to the pelvic area, which helps to relieve pain. The method can also be used to ease other ailments like back pain.

A 2020 study from University College London suggested that masturbating once a week in your 40s can help to delay menopause.

Researchers tracked 2,936 women aged 45 years for a decade and found that those who engaged in sexual activity at least once a week were 28 percent less likely to have entered the menopause by the end of the study compared to women who masturbated less than once a month.

The scientists behind the study suggested that when women do not have sex or masturbate, the body ‘chooses’ not to invest in ovulation, triggering menopause.

Dr. Rena Malik, the director of female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery at the University of Maryland, said that it was important for women to choose a frequency of masturbation that they were comfortable with.

On the other hand, men should have at least 21 times a month or five times a week to lower the risk of prostate cancer.

Older men are encouraged to masturbate more as data showed they tend to pleasure themselves much less frequently than those in their 20s, 30s and 40s.

The 2016 study, by researchers at Boston University, found those who ejaculated more — through masturbation or sex — were up to a third less likely to get prostate cancer.

It’s thought that the act helps clear potentially cancer-causing substances from the prostate. But men should not be compulsive about masturbating and should go with how they feel.

Other risks from too much masturbation include injury, which happens when people start applying more force in order to get the same pleasure.

Other research also showed that when people masturbate, it triggers the release of a flood of feel-good hormones, responsible for easing anxiety, stress and raising self-esteem.

Studies have also linked masturbation to lasting longer during sex, helping men to bond with their partners.