Easy access for everyone. This is a treatment proposed by research from the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University (USA) and published in the journal Menopause to manage menopausal symptoms such as insomnia and changes. … Of humor. It’s autoeroticism, a treatment most women would be willing to try, but few would admit their doctor had pointed out to them.
Researchers surveyed 1,178 women in the United States between the ages of 40 and 65 about their experiences with menopausal symptoms and the effectiveness of current symptom management strategies, including hormone therapy, supplements, lifestyle factors, and sexual pleasure.
According to the survey, almost 14% of perimenopausal women report using masturbation regularly as a strategy to manage symptoms.
The report found that while strategies such as exercise (25%), relaxation (24%), diet (21%), and supplements (19%) were used most often, few women admitted to using prescribed hormone therapy (4%).
Approximately one-third report not using any method to manage symptoms
Compared to other approaches, masturbation was rated as one of the most effective strategies for symptom relief on a 5-point scale, with scores of 4.35 versus 3.89 to 4.06 for various lifestyle changes.
The effectiveness of hormone therapy also received a high score of 4.2, despite having one of the lowest utilization rates.
When researchers asked how masturbation affected certain menopausal symptoms, 46% of participants reported improved mood (43%), increased sexual desire and pleasure (13%), and improved sleep. reported improvement in at least one menopausal symptom, including improved vaginal lubrication (11%), reduced pain (8%), reduced hot flashes (3%), and other positive effects (10%).
Importantly, the majority of perimenopausal women (66%) said they would masturbate more often if they knew it could have a positive effect on their symptoms. Half (57%) said they would be willing to try masturbation to relieve symptoms if recommended by their doctor.
This highlights the importance of open, evidence-based conversations between patients and healthcare professionals about sexual health.
The study found that perimenopausal women were significantly more likely than postmenopausal women to say their doctor had consulted them about menopause (54% vs. 46%), but both groups were less likely to report having received medical counseling about masturbation (7% vs. 4%).
“Conversations about menopause often focus on hormone therapy and lifestyle changes, but autoeroticism remains ignored,” says Cynthia Graham, a senior scientist at the Kinsey Institute. “Our findings suggest that masturbation may play an important role in symptom management.”
sexual happiness
The study also revealed a possible generational shift in attitudes toward autoeroticism. Perimenopausal women were significantly more likely than postmenopausal women to report having masturbated in the past year and did so more frequently. They were also significantly more likely to embrace autoeroticism to alleviate symptoms compared to postmenopausal women.
However, not all women are open to the idea of masturbation, whether it helps relieve symptoms or not. One in five women surveyed reported never masturbating.
This study adds to recent evidence highlighting the link between sexual well-being and menopausal care. Although effective menopause management requires individualized solutions, a combination of management strategies that include autoeroticism may yield the most positive health outcomes.
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