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Topics: Health
Callum Jones
A doctor has detailed the extreme changes your body goes through if you don't have sex or masturbate amid the upcoming 'No Nut November' internet challenge.
The viral challenge of sexual abstinence for a period of 30 days is approaching once more, a trend that started in 2011 but really gained traction in 2017.
Some claim that abstaining from ejaculation is good for your health, but there's no scientific proof.
In fact, your body can go through extreme changes as a result of a lack of sex, including the potential for the penis to shrink.
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Yep, Tobias Kohler, an assistant professor of urology at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, told WebMD that without regular erections, the penis will become less elastic and subsequently shrink.
He said: "If [men] don't do anything to maintain normal erections, they will get shortening of the penis."
However, Dr Tara Suwinyattichaiporn, a sex and relationship expert, claimed it would likely take upwards of five years of no sex for such to occur.
Studies have also found that ejaculating regularly may prevent cancer because it flushes out the harmful chemicals in the semen, as per the Urology Care Foundation.
And a lack of action can also have a damaging impact on one's mental health, with Dr Suwinyattichaiporn noting that those who don't masturbate or engage in sexual activities regularly can experience increased stress levels due to sexual frustration, which can lead to the likes of anxiety and depression.
Sex therapist Sari Cooper revealed to the Daily Mail that it can also produce problems in a relationship, as couples who go longer periods without having sex 'don't approach their partner with softness, vulnerability and requests for compromise'.
"They also don't have the technique to repair conflicts and instead blame one another, pursue the other with continuous criticism, or elicit a guilty response to get their needs met," the expert added.
There have even been claims that participating in 'No Nut November' does more harm than good, though one study found that one month of sexual abstinence doesn't have too much of an impact.
In a study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine earlier this year, experts monitored the psychological and sexual wellbeing impacts of the annual challenge.
The findings stated: "This pioneering study provides the first scientific evidence evaluating the psychological and sexual wellbeing impacts of the 'No Nut November' phenomenon, finding that the month-long period of abstinence from ejaculation has no cost or benefit to participants’ sexual wellbeing."