Semen retention calls for reducing ejaculatory frequency — if not abstaining from ejaculation entirely.
An ancient practice that’s returned to popularity in today’s sexually-objectifying era, semen retention (SR) promises a wide variety of mental, physical, and even spiritual benefits. Check out Reddit and other online forums and you’ll see guys saying that semen retention changed their entire life, making them more confident, more energetic, and more attractive. Some people use it to get closer to God, while others use it to get closer to their business goals!
Semen retention has tangibly changed my life, too. In addition to the above benefits, it‘s helped me put relationships with women into the right perspective (hint: these relationships aren‘t everything, and they sure don‘t guarantee happiness).
But can it change yours? In this guide we’ll be going over both scientific evidence and anecdotal testimonies and taking a closer look!
How to practice semen retention/nofap
Semen retention is actually pretty simple: it just means abstaining from ejaculation for some period of time. Think of it as nofap on steroids. While nofap allows ejaculation during sex, semen retention doesn’t.
Some people dedicate themselves to semen retention indefinitely — a practice that’s sometimes referred to as monk mode — but it’s more common to practice semen retention for a limited period of time in order to focus on other things. Semen retention can be used to fuel business success, increase athletic performance, and/or provide a sort of ‘reset’ from porn addiction.
A growing body of research is validating more and more of semen retention’s top concepts. But it’s just as telling that historical icons and iconoclasts were known to practice semen retention. The short list includes:
- Da Vinci
- Nikola Tesla
- The Dalai Lama
- Mohammad Ali
- Steve Jobs
- Mike Tyson
…and many, many more. Some of these luminaries didn’t even seem to understand what they were getting out of their retention…but they noticed and documented the benefits regardless.
Practicing semen retention: top benefits
As we said above, avoiding ejaculation leads to a huge variety of physical, mental, and spiritual benefits. These benefits usually begin to kick in around the one-week mark…and really kick in around the 25-30 day mark. (These timeframes depend on your metabolism, hormonal health, and other factors, of course.)
If practiced for long enough, semen retention allows semen to build up within the epididymis and eventually become recycled by the body. It’s thought that this recycling process releases nutrients, like vitamin B12 and zinc, back into the peripheral body. [1]
Semen retention’s benefits can also be interpreted as a metaphysical phenomenon. The ancients viewed semen as ‘life force energy,’ rich in everything needed to create life – and rich in life itself. By retaining semen one allows this extra ‘life force’ to flow upwards through the spine’s central channel, resulting in more mental energy and vitality.
Is semen retention associated with prostate cancer?
The short answer is no. While some population studies have identified a weak link between higher ejaculation frequency and reduced rates of prostate cancer, these types of population studies are notoriously inaccurate.
In other words, it’s unlikely that semen retention will give any particular person an increased susceptibility to prostate cancer. Semen retention probably only has detrimental effects if one edges too much. It’s unlikely that semen retention has any negative effects in the long run. It doesn’t cause premature ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, or reduce sperm quality.
Semen retention can even be used by those who are married or otherwise sexually active. Sexual stimulation is considered A-OK just as long as it doesn’t lead to ejaculation. Some men have found a workaround by practicing retrograde ejaculation. That’s when orgasm is uncoupled from ejaculation through dedicated practice and muscle control.
With all this said, let’s dive into the many health benefits of not ejaculating and semen retention!
12 Best Benefits of Semen Retention
Below are 11 top benefits of semen retention in no particular order. If you’ve ever tried semen retention, you’ve probably noticed some (or all!) of these benefits for yourself.
- More confidence
- More energy
- More self-control
- Increased cognition
- Faster-growing hair
- Deeper voice
- More joy
- Improved libido
- Better sleep
- Stronger immunity
- More attention from women
- Better workouts
1. More confidence
One of the most noticeable benefits of semen retention is increased confidence. Many practitioners attest that semen retention has worked wonders for their mental health.
This increased confidence isn’t an instant thing, though. It comes with time. Some guys say it takes 25, 30, or even 55 days to experience unlimited confidence. Others say they feel way more mentally strong after just 5.
How does this work? The longer you abstain from ejaculating, the more sensitive your brain’s dopamine receptors become. This dopamine boost can lead to increased levels of confidence, motivation, and willpower. It might even help your brain process information more efficiently. [2]
2. More energy
Semen retention is also known to boost energy. You might be surprised to hear one of the primary mechanisms behind this: vitamin B12. We all know vitamin B12 as one of the very most energizing B vitamins, but what’s much less well-known is that semen is rich in B12.
The fact that B12 is lost with every ejaculation may partially explain why guys feel so tired after jacking off.
Ejaculation affects hormonal status, too. Prolactin rises and testosterone falls in the refractory period after sex or masturbation. That’s a bad combo if energy is what you’re after!
3. More self-control
More often than not, self-control is something that has to be earned. Resisting the urge to watch porn and masturbate isn’t easy — especially at first — but that’s part of the magic of it. Once you’ve overcome the urge to release your semen you’ll probably find other disciplines become that much easier.
And just think of what you could do with more self-control: you could start a new business. recommit to working out, learn a martial art, or do some inner work. The possibilities are virtually endless.
4. Increased cognition
Semen retention is known to boost cognition in a variety of ways.
Most obviously, your brain won’t be overcrowded with thoughts of porn.
Your brain may become more sensitive to feel-good neurotransmitters like dopamine and oxytocin the longer you abstain. And the self-control boost we mentioned earlier can promote cognitive function, too. It’s easy to think clearly when you’re focused and motivated!
5. Faster-growing hair
Faster hair growth is one of the more interesting benefits of semen retention. This benefit hasn’t fully been elucidated by science, but it’s been noted by far too many people to ignore. Some people even regain a more youthful hairline, as described by a semen retention practitioner in Peter Kelder’s 1939 Book, The Eye of Revelation: [3]
“Only two years ago I was as bald as the baldest man here. When vitality started coming back, one of the Lamas told me to massage my scalp good with a piece of butter twice a week. The butter up there was fresh, not a bit of salt in it. I took his advice and massaged my scalp with butter until it soon loosened up. I did this about one hour after a meal. The food elements in the blood were brought to the scalp by the circulation of the blood. The scalp was so thoroughly massaged that the blood vessels were dilated; the hair roots picked up the necessary nutrition, and the hair grew-as you can plainly see.”
And the butter may not even be necessary. That’s because semen contains small amounts of a hair-friendly nutrient called keratin. Keratin is the very building block of your hair and nails, in fact.
6. Deeper voice
Another super interesting benefit of semen retention? A deeper, louder, more masculine voice.
This is yet another benefit that hasn’t been explained by science. It’s explained in The Eye of Revelation, though:
“The Vortex at the base of the neck has power over the vocal cords. This Vortex and the one below in the sex center are directly connected. Of course, all the Vortexes have a common connection, but these two are geared together, as it were. What affects one affects the other, so that when a man‘s voice is high his manly vitality is low.”
Traditional Chinese Medicine says that semen retention leads to a buildup up Jing, or kidney essence, which in turn affects the depth of your voice.
7. More joy + Happiness
Most people on semen retention feel happier, more perceptive, and more child-like in the way they view the world. If these qualities don’t embody joy, we don’t know what does!
This benefit may be a result of semen retention’s ability to increase testosterone levels, but it’s more likely related to increased sensitivity to dopamine and other neurotransmitters. When your brain isn’t being overstimulated by porn it becomes better able to appreciate the little things.
8. Improved libido
This is probably one of semen retention’s more obvious benefits. The longer you retain, the higher your libido will tend to get.
In addition to growing stronger, your libido will likely become more authentic. You may find yourself admiring the appearance of women you interact with — instead of just thirsting and lusting over them. Female energy may start to feel more uplifting than it used to. You yourself may feel like you have a stronger vibe.
There can be downsides to having a high libido, though. Some men say that women they normally wouldn’t be interested in start looking more and more like supermodels. At the very least, having so much sexual desire can be distracting!
If you’re experiencing excessive libido, don’t stress it. Sex drive isn’t a bad thing; it’s just something that should be redirected. Consider funneling that energy towards your business or relationship goals. You can also reduce sex drive directly by taking cold showers and practicing certain types of breathwork.
9. Better sleep
As long as your libido isn’t keeping you up at night, semen retention should help you sleep better.
That’s likely due to more available free testosterone. Research shows that higher testosterone levels are correlated with better sleep patterns, while lower testosterone can reduce sleep quality and duration. Men who are 65 or older often experience sleep problems for these very reasons.
Better still, semen retention’s effects on sleep create a positive feedback loop: more testosterone leads to more sleep, and more sleep leads to more testosterone. The odd thing about this is that more sleep means more testosterone. [4]
10.Stronger immunity
In addition to containing B12 and keratin, semen is rich in several immunity-boosting vitamins, minerals, and co-factors. The short list includes vitamin C, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, and zinc. The preservation of these vital nutrients can help your body’s innate immune system stay firing on all cylinders. [5]
11. More attention from women
Sex is deeply engrained in the male psyche. Men feel empowered and wanted when women ‘give’ sex to them.
Yet there’s a paradox to all this: the more you want something, the more elusive that ‘something’ can become.
By taking your mind off of sex, semen retention actually provides you with more sexual attention from women. Semen retention actually makes you more attractive — in the literal sense of the term. You might find yourself attracting more women, more opportunities, and more open doors than before.
If you’ve ever done semen retention, you’ve probably noticed this firsthand. Women become apt to compliment you out of nowhere, ask you questions, stare at you, or otherwise try to get your attention.
Scientific evidence is yet to validate this benefit, but that hasn’t stopped people from experiencing it!
12. Better workouts
Last but not least, semen retention may be able to supercharge your workouts. There’s a reason that some of the best boxers of all time (Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, etc) would abstain from sex for weeks leading up to their big fights.
“There was no way someone could be a sexual tyrannosaurus and the world’s champion,” Tyson explains in his autobiography. “You have to willingly surrender one of them. You could have sex at any age, but you can’t always be a world-class athlete.”
Other types of athletes can benefit from semen retention, too. expect your motivation, endurance, and explosive power to build slowly over time. Some people even report that their body composition gets better.
How to get started with semen retention
Getting started with semen retention doesn’t have to feel daunting. The first step is to establish a baseline.
Take our Porn Addiction Test here to find out whether a dependency or addiction to porn could be holding you back. If so, focus on dropping that first.
Once you’ve begun breaking free from porn, it’s time to find your why! Maybe some of the benefits mentioned above stand out to you. As great as these benefits are, they’re really just the start. Semen retention might be your next step if you’re reading to bring a brighter future into existence.
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