#YouAsked: I can't sleep without masturbating. What can I do?

Question: Not that I am a compulsive masturbator or anything like that and as much as I know, nor am I addicted. But I have to masturbate when I am going to bed every day. It has become my habit but lately, I have started feeling guilty post my masturbation session. I don't want to be like that and want to be able to sleep without thinking of masturbating. How can I achieve that? - Anonymous

Answer: Masturbation releases such hormones in your body that make you relax. This is often the reason many people (and not just you) are in the habit of masturbating before they hit the bed. In doing so, you tell your brain that this activity is what is followed by sleep. However, this brain programming is merely about a routine and can be reset by behaviour re-modification. Also, know that this habit is something very common and is not really severe.

You must know that a regular masturbation routine is nothing but healthy. However, what your regular looks like should be in your hands. There are certain things you can try if you think your routine is affecting you in a bad way and you want to stop masturbating everyday. These include:

Try mental diversion. Keep yourself busy during that time of the day when you feel like masturbating. Call your friends or family, read, play video games, watch movies (keep it U-rated) or do anything that keeps you busy.

Exercise. This can divert your energy towards working out. Also, if stress is causing you to masturbate, exercising can substantially reduce those stressful triggers.

Change your atmosphere. If you sleep alone, reach out to your parents or friends and sleep with them. Don't give yourself the opportunity to be able to masturbate.

Keep your bladder empty. Many do not know this but the urge to pee can often be mistaken as the urge to masturbate. Visit the loo just before you are heading to the bed.

Don't hit the bed until you are really tired. This will not allow you any time lapse between lying down and actually sleeping, which often ends up being the time frame when people masturbate.

Set your limits. You can start by reducing the frequency of masturbation to alternate days. Do it one day and stay put the other day. As you get a hang of that routine, you can further tweak it to what you would like it to be.