In recent years, more men have become aware of a practice known as edging. Edging is a unique form of masturbation that helps men develop orgasm control. By practicing edging, you can essentially train yourself to last longer which can lead to more satisfying sex.
Edging isn’t without its risks, though. If you’re planning on starting to practice edging, it’s a good idea to make sure that you know about the pros and cons of the practice. Doing it properly is important if you want to achieve any of the benefits.
This article will explain what edging is and teach you how you can start edging.
What Will I Learn?
- What Is Edging
- What You Need to Know Before You Start Edging
- Ways to Practice Edging Orgasm Control
- What Are The Benefits of Edging?
- Is Edging Bad For You?
What Is Edging
Edging is a masturbation practice that has a number of different names. The practice is known as surfing, peaking, teasing, among other things – but by far the most common name is edging. The basic premise of edging is that you stop yourself from having an orgasm right before you go beyond the point of no return, also known as the edge.
Stopping yourself at the edge right before a sexual climax trains your body to prepare itself for an orgasm. Over time, doing this for long enough allows you to change your body’s physiological response. Once you get more familiar with the feelings and the practice of edging, you’ll be able to develop more control over your orgasms.
Interestingly enough, edging actually has its origins as a medical treatment. While nowadays, people generally use edging to help increase the strength of their orgasms or improve their edging sex lives, doctors were also prescribing edging (then known as the stop-start method) to help men who are struggling with premature ejaculation.
While edging might sound like a simple solution, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s easy. It takes a lot of dedication and practice to regularly edge. Most of all, it takes a decent amount of willpower: being able to willfully pull yourself away from the moment of climax can be difficult, to say the least.
Nonetheless, the rewards of edging are great. You will become more aware of your body’s own physical and sexual responses. You will learn about the different stages of your arousal. Above all, you’ll be able to learn how to recognize these stages and control your overall orgasmic experience.
What You Need to Know Before You Start Edging
There are a few things that you’ll probably want to be aware of before you start edging. The first and foremost thing is that the practice will be a little bit different for everyone. While the basic instructions are the same, everyone’s sexual responses will be a bit different. The only way that you can really begin to master edging is by figuring out what works for you.
In regard to edging, you’re going to have to figure out your own techniques for recognizing your states of arousal. It’s also important that you recognize the issues that you’re trying to improve upon.
Furthermore, there are some terms and definitions that you might do well to learn. The most important thing to understand before starting edging are the 4 stages of arousal. These are:
- Excitement. Excitement is the first stage of arousal. Your skin starts flushing, your heart starts to beat a bit quicker, and blood starts to fill your penis which can lead to an erection.
- Plateau. The second stage is the plateau, where the previous symptoms become more intense. The plateau is known as such because this is where you’re going to need to get comfortable stopping the stimulation. The goal of edging is to remain at the edge of the plateau for as long as possible.
- Orgasm. This is the stage that most people are eager to reach. For men, orgasm is a series of pelvic contractions that cause semen to be ejected from the urethra. The orgasm is highly pleasurable. After prolonged edging, orgasms tend to be even more pleasurable and release larger amounts of semen.
- Resolution. This is the period after orgasm when the body releases a cascade of hormones. This leads to relaxation and sometimes downright sleepiness. The resolution also leads to the beginning of the refractory period, a time in which a man will be unable to get another erection or become aroused again. Avoiding the resolution and the refractory period is one of the main purposes of edging and orgasm control.
As you might imagine, everyone experiences these stages a little bit differently. While the basic premise of each stage is the same, nobody can tell you exactly how you’re going to feel during each stage so you’re going to have to figure that out yourself.
Ways to Practice Edging Orgasm Control
There are quite a few different ways that you can practice edging or similar orgasm control techniques. Here are a few of the most popular different methods. These different methods all help you reach a similar goal: helping you recognize the ‘edge’ prior to orgasm and teaching you how to avoid falling over the edge.
Solo Edging
The first and most common method of edging is solo edging. This can be done on your own whenever you feel the need, given that you’re able to set up the proper environment. Here are some basic directions.
- Make sure that your environment is set up properly. You obviously want the doors locked and the blinds shut. If you’re feeling the need, make the atmosphere a bit more relaxed by putting on music or dimming the lights.
- Get yourself in the mood. Try to avoid using pornography, despite the recommendations of internet-based edgers. While porn certainly puts you in the mood right away, it can also lead you down the path to edging porn addiction.
- Start touching yourself in whatever way feels good. Keep doing so until you reach the edge right before you come. Then, stop stimulating yourself or slow down a bit. If you’ve practiced pelvic floor exercises, you can clench your PC muscle to help ensure that you don’t ejaculate.
- Once you’re a bit less stimulated, you can resume where you left off. You’ll probably notice that it takes you a little bit longer to reach the edge the second time. Or, you might be more excited. Take note of your feelings and continue masturbating.
- Keep doing this over and over until you feel satisfied. You can choose to orgasm at the end, though many men choose not to. It’s a huge flex and a great way to train your willpower if you decide not to ejaculate at all.
With Your Partner
You can also practice edging with your partner. This is the best way for you to learn how to start your new edging sex life. Rather than simply masturbating and then trying to apply the techniques when you’re with your partner, you can learn the same techniques with your partner’s help.
The practice is fairly similar.
- The first thing that you’ll have to do is communicate your intention to practice edging. If your partner has never heard of this then you might need to educate them.
- Get aroused with your partner, doing whatever it is that makes you aroused. Make sure that you have had a prior discussion with your partner so that they know how to tell if you’re about to come.
- When you’re about to come, get your partner to stop stimulation or slow down completely until you’ve reached a point where you can continue stimulation. Keep repeating the process until you’ve had enough. It’s generally recommended to do this for at least 10 minutes.
The Squeeze Method(s)
The squeeze method is a bit of a different technique that involves physically preventing yourself from ejaculating.
One form of the squeeze method involves stimulating yourself until you go over the edge. Right when you go over the edge, squeeze the tip of your penis so that the semen can’t escape. Stop all other stimulation. Hold the squeeze for at least 30 seconds, or until the pulsing and throbbing stops.
You can also do the squeeze method by using your pelvic floor muscles. If you train these muscles enough, you’ll be able to manually stop yourself from ejaculating at will.
What Are The Benefits of Edging?
There are a number of different benefits of edging. These are some of the most prominent:
- Increased self-awareness. As you practice edging, you will become more aware of your personal sexuality. You will begin to recognize the different stages of your arousal and you’ll be able to separate them into distinct events. This leads to the next benefit….
- Improved sexual satisfaction. The more you learn about your arousal levels, the more you’ll be able to develop control over these different stages. Over time, this will allow you to gain more control over your sexual performance.
- Helps build confidence. Men, especially those who suffer from premature ejaculation, will likely get to enjoy an extreme boost in their confidence as their sexual ability increases.
- Improves partner relationships. If you practice edging with your partner then you will be able to engage in a different realm of intimacy. Instead of focusing on penetration and orgasm, you’ll be able to simply enjoy pleasuring each other without a goal in mind. Non-goal-oriented intimacy often helps bring partners closer together.
Is Edging Bad For You?
Edging can certainly provide a number of benefits, but it can also be dangerous. There are two main risks associated with edging.
Edging Porn Addiction
Obviously, this risk is avoided if you’re able to practice edging without using porn. However, many people prefer to use porn since it’s an easy way to stimulate themselves prior to edging.
Unfortunately, porn addiction is a real issue that has led to a large number of people to have to seek therapy or even rehab. People who become addicted to porn often have a hard time focusing throughout the day.
They may begin to objectify or hypersexualize people, and they often spend many hours of their days thinking about watching porn. It’s not uncommon for pornography addicts to take breaks from work or school to go watch porn in the bathroom.
Dopamine Problems
When you’re masturbating and having sex, the body releases a large number of different hormones. One of the most important hormones released is called dopamine.
Dopamine is involved in a number of processes. It’s the ‘reward’ neurotransmitters, and usually, it’s released when we achieve something that’s beneficial to our biological health – in this case, having an orgasm or becoming sexually aroused, which is naturally encouraged because it helps to propagate the species.
However, continual edging leads to a regular influx of dopamine in the brain. Over time, the brain starts to recognize this excess dopamine as a problem. It starts to downregulate your dopamine system, which means that your body will no longer respond as well to dopamine.
In the long-term, this can lead to issues like fatigue, lack of motivation, depression, cognitive health problems, and problems with libido and sexual health.
Conclusion
Edging is a very powerful sexual practice that has helped hundreds of men overcome problems like premature ejaculation. However, edging isn’t without its risks.
Before starting to edge, you should be aware of the different stages of arousal and the potential dangers associated with the practice. Staying informed will help you reap the benefits and will help to minimize the risks that you might face when you start edging.
