It’s true what they say: masturbation is like procrastination. It feels good while you’re doing it, but afterwards you realize you’ve just screwed yourself.

Flicking the bean, rubbing one out, whacking it — whatever you want to call it, masturbation is arguably one of the most taboo, yet undoubtedly common, sexual behaviors of human beings.

According to a 2010 study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, over half of men and women in the 25–29 age range confessed to masturbating in the past month, with high numbers in all other age groups.

However, masturbation is a topic that is often met with utter awkwardness and embarrassment — people would much rather confess to having sex with another person than doing it to themselves.

There’s a tendency to feel guilt after performing the deed on yourself. This can stem from being shamed about it by society, especially in a religious context in which it is often labelled as a sin.

Even outside of a religious context, there is still a lot of shame about a sexual act that is completely natural and utterly harmless. Masturbation is even commonly seen in animals such as squirrels, horses and penguins.

Even dolphins are known to use eels and severed fish heads in order to have a little self-fun — keep in mind, I am not recommending this method for human use, as it is not a particularly sanitary endeavour.

Now, while many people feel shame or embarrassment about masturbating, it’s good to be aware that it is a healthy practice and not harmful in the least.

Masturbation has the potential to assist sexual relationships between people. It helps an individual to know, discover and feel comfortable with their body — information that they can then successfully relay to their partner. It even increases a person’s ability to have orgasms during sex.

In addition, masturbation is an alternative way to relieve stress — you could even substitute it for drinking or smoking, as it is much less harmful than these common student stress-relievers. It also improves sleep and can help women deal with the pain of menstrual cramps.

A common claim against masturbation is that it’s addictive — that a person can become so consumed by it that it starts to affect their lives on a personal and professional level.

While a person can become addicted to masturbation just as much as they can become addicted to sex, it is something that is under their own control and is a safer alternative to having multiple sexual partners.

If one feels their addiction to masturbation is affecting their life in a negative way, they can always visit a sex counsellor and find ways to curb the addiction or to learn how to control it. Eating ice cream can be addictive too — that doesn’t mean people shouldn’t be allowed to enjoy it once in awhile!

Whether or not you masturbate is completely up to you, and the choice is rightfully yours. While this topic isn’t something that you want to bring up at a dinner conversation or with your family members, the taboo behind it should be removed.

It is essentially a harmless, safe sexual practice. What you do to your body is your choice, and if it is something that makes you happy and relaxed, then by all means go for it with your head held high and your hand held low!