I've come across the claim that masturbation can cure insomnia at several places on the internet, including:
- Episode 1 of The Principles of Pleasure, which focuses on female orgasm.
"We think sexual stimulation could help a number of different disorders. A lot of people say they masturbate to help themselves sleep at night but we don't know why cause no one has ever looked."
- a Health Central article, Could Masturbation Cure Your Insomnia?, which says it may help:
Although masturbation is unlikely to cure long-term, chronic insomnia, it may certainly be of help if you're struggling with the occasional sleepless night.
- An online article (Taken from the comments)
"Orgasms release prolactin, which has a soporific effect," he explains, meaning that the hormone plays a role in inducing sleep.
I'm wary of these claims.
Can someone give some references that support or push back against this claim? Surely, there should/must have been some research into this.