Self-Pleasure May Help Ease Menopause Symptoms

Many women use exercise, diet changes and supplements for menopause symptoms, but a new study suggests self-pleasure may belong in that toolkit too.

Researchers at the Kinsey Institute surveyed peri- and postmenopausal women and found that masturbation was among the highest-rated symptom-management methods.

Self-pleasure matters in menopause care

Surveys show that almost 90% of medical trainees feel unprepared to support patients through menopause, and many women say they receive little information from their healthcare providers. Although menopause has had a rise in media coverage, research and clinical training still lag behind.

“Menopause is important to research for many reasons, one of which is that most women going through perimenopause experience several symptoms that have been described by women as ‘highly disruptive and intolerable,’” said the authors of the latest study.

These symptoms range from sleep problems and mood changes to vaginal dryness and pain.

Hormone therapy can be effective, but its use has dropped, with only ~4% of women in the United States currently prescribed it. Concerns dating back to the early 2000s, along with side effects, continue to influence decisions. As a result, many women turn to lifestyle adjustments.

Research outside of menopause has shown that masturbation and orgasm can support sleep, improve mood, reduce pain and increase genital blood flow. One study found that regular masturbation was linked to lower levels of vaginal atrophy in postmenopausal women. Even so, no previous work has directly tested self-pleasure as a menopause symptom-relief tool, and medical conversations rarely include it.

“Conversations about menopause often focus on hormone therapy or lifestyle changes, but self-pleasure remains overlooked,” said co-author Dr. Cynthia Graham, a distinguished professor in gender studies at Indiana University.

Graham and the team set out to learn how often women use masturbation to manage symptoms, how effective they believe it is compared with other approaches and how willing they might be to try it if a clinician suggested it.

Masturbation and menopause symptoms

The researchers ran an online survey designed to reflect the demographics of women aged 40–65 years across the US. Participants completed questions about menopause symptoms, self-pleasure, sexual history and other symptom-management strategies. Only women who were peri- or postmenopausal were included in the final analysis, resulting in a sample of 1,178 people.

The survey asked about 15 symptom-management strategies, including masturbation, and participants rated how helpful each approach was on a 5-point scale. They also reported which of 19 symptoms improved after masturbation. A set of questions explored doctor–patient conversations about menopause and sexual health.

The team found that masturbation is not widely used as a symptom-management tool. Around 13.5% of perimenopausal women and 9.7% of postmenopausal women said they used it for symptom relief; however, 19.5% of the overall sample had never masturbated.

Yet the women who did use it rated it highly.

Perimenopausal participants gave self-pleasure an average score of 4.35 out of 5, which was similar to partnered sex, sex toy use and hormone therapy, and higher than many lifestyle changes.

“Nearly one in five perimenopausal and postmenopausal women had noticed that self-pleasure provided symptom relief,” explained the authors.

When asked about specific symptoms, almost half of the perimenopausal women and one-third of postmenopausal women reported improvements in at least one symptom.

Perimenopausal women most often cited improvements in mood swings, falling asleep and irritability, and postmenopausal women pointed to sleep problems and mood shifts.

Smaller groups reported benefits for lubrication, pain, desire and headaches, and only 2.7% reported worsening symptoms, often linked to poor health or difficulty reaching orgasm.

Despite only 7% of perimenopausal and 4% of postmenopausal women having ever discussed masturbation with a clinician, many said they would try it if they knew it could help – and more than half would do so if a clinician recommended it.

How self-pleasure could fit into future menopause treatment

Self-pleasure is accessible, low-cost, and, based on the findings, may support mood and sleep in menopausal women.

“Our findings suggest masturbation may play a meaningful role in symptom management,” said Graham.

It could work alongside hormone therapy, lubricants, moisturizers or behavioral approaches, adding another option for women tailoring their own care.

Menopause still receives limited attention in medical training, and sexual well-being is often missing from appointments. This study highlights a need for clearer communication around self-pleasure. Bringing sexual health into routine menopause care may help clinicians offer a broader set of options.

However, all data were self-reported, and therefore, the links between self-pleasure and symptom changes cannot be considered causal. There were no physiological measures to track sleep quality, hormone changes or body temperature, and menopause status was based on participant reports, which can be inaccurate without clinical assessment.

Future work would benefit from controlled studies that test cause and effect, including trials that track sleep latency or hot flash frequency. Physiological monitoring would add clarity, as would long-term studies following women through the menopause transition. Research in different cultural settings is also needed.

“While managing menopause is something that necessitates a custom solution to each woman based on her unique health and needs, doctors and other health care providers should be cognizant of the valuable role that masturbation may play in symptom relief,” the authors concluded.

Reference: Lehmiller JJ, Graham CA, Ferrall L, Mendelson EA, Prine MS. The role of masturbation in relieving symptoms associated with menopause. Menopause. 2025. doi: 10.1097/GME.0000000000002675

This article is a rework of a press release issued by the Kinsey Institute. Material has been edited for length and content.