It may not be about boosting testosterone or self-control; new research suggests the decision to participate in the viral challenge says more about your personality than its potential health benefits.
Study: No Nut November, temporary abstinence, and sexual wellbeing: a study of the short-term abstinence-based internet trend. Image Credit: NeelRong / Shuttertock
In a recent study in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, researchers investigated the psychological and sexual wellbeing impacts of “No Nut November” (NNN). NNN is a challenge that involves a month of abstinence from masturbation and/or ejaculation, and is gaining mainstream internet popularity, yet its effects on sexual wellbeing remain unknown. The present study makes a direct comparison of sexual pleasure, desire, or function metrics between NNN participants and non-participants before and after the challenge.
Study findings revealed no significant differences between participants and non-participants across all measured metrics, revealing no scientific evidence backing up the internet hype surrounding NNN. However, the study observed that individuals who had previously participated in the NNN challenge reported higher levels of sexual flexibility, suggesting a potential predisposing factor that may draw them to such trends.
Background
Several internet trends, including the “ice bucket challenge” and “planking,” have periodically captured global attention and witnessed astounding participation, with little consideration given to their psychological or health impacts.
One of the most popular internet trends that, unlike most of its peers, has withstood the test of time is “No Nut November” (NNN). In this yearly challenge, participants (predominantly but not exclusively men) attempt to abstain from masturbation and ejaculation for the entire month. However, the study found participants defined the rules variably: 44.5% as “no ejaculation” (allowing sexual activity without orgasm), while 33.3% banned all sexual activity. Born from the dark depths of online forums, NNN is now a mainstream phenomenon, with some of its growing participant cohort claiming benefits ranging from improved self-control and sexual pleasure to increased testosterone and reduced fatigue. The current research did not assess physiological claims, such as changes in testosterone levels.
Interestingly, while these claims have never been scientifically verified, extreme variants of the challenge (like the NoFap community promoting lifelong abstinence) have been found to result in generally adverse outcomes, such as increased participant anxiety and even erectile dysfunction. The study authors emphasize that NNN is distinct from NoFap as a short-term, social challenge rather than a lifelong commitment. These confounding lines of evidence, alongside NNN’s ever-growing participation, make methodologically robust investigations of the trend’s psychological and sexual health impacts essential.
About the study
As the first systematic and empirical evaluation of NNN’s impacts on sexual health, the current study aimed to address gaps in scientific understanding of a rapidly growing global trend with potentially widespread consequences. It comprised an online survey designed to characterize NNN participants and measure the trend’s effects on sexual wellbeing. Study participants were recruited via online platforms (subreddits, Facebook advertisements, Instagram/Twitter/X posts, etc.) in October 2023.
Based on their NNN participation history (previous or prospective NNN participants versus NNN non-participants), volunteers were categorized into ‘cases’ and ‘controls’. The study collected data at two time points: Time 1 (T1) in October 2023, before NNN, and Time 2 (T2) in December 2023/January 2024, following the challenge’s conclusion. Study data comprised participants’ demographic and medical histories, NNN participation information, and a custom questionnaire evaluating different aspects of sexual wellbeing.
Specifically, the questionnaire included: 1. Sexual Pleasure Scale (SPS) – pleasure from sexual activities, 2. Sexual Desire Inventory-Solitary (SDI-SD) – desire for solo sexual activity, 3. Arizona Sexual Experience Scale (ASEX) – overall sexual functioning and dysfunction, 4. SexFlex Scale (SFS) – psychological flexibility regarding sexual matters, and 5. Sexual Excitation Scale-Short Form (SES-SF) – a measure of arousal and sexual excitation at baseline only (T1).
Statistical analyses included Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) to compare sexual wellbeing at T1 between those who had previously participated in NNN and those who hadn’t. Repeated-measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) models were also used to track changes from T1 to T2 between a group actively participating in NNN 2023 versus the controls.
Study findings
The final study dataset comprised 435 individuals who completed the T1 survey, and only 114 who completed the T2 follow-up. Demographic data revealed that NNN participants were predominantly white (62.9%), heterosexual (54.0%), and male (66.7%), but also included women (20.6%) and gender-diverse individuals (10.6%). An eye-opening and potentially alarming finding was that 57.1% of participants reported first participating in NNN before adulthood (18 years), suggesting the trend has a significant reach among adolescents and may have implications for sexual development.
Analysis revealed:
- No statistically significant differences in sexual wellbeing between participants and non-participants across T1 and T2
- Higher baseline sexual flexibility in NNN participants (adjusted mean = 18.07 vs. 16.14, ηp² = .030, p = .008)
- At T1, men reported significantly higher solitary desire (p = .011), lower sexual dysfunction (p < .001), and higher sexual excitation (p < .001) than women/gender-diverse individuals
Conclusions
This pioneering study provides the first scientific evidence evaluating the psychological and sexual wellbeing impacts of the “No Nut November” phenomenon, finding that the month-long period of abstinence from ejaculation has no cost or benefit to participants’ sexual wellbeing. These findings counter strong yet unfounded claims made by both proponents and critics online, and while limited by their reliance on self-report data and a 74% attrition rate between timepoints, they lay crucial groundwork for future research.
Perhaps the study’s most intriguing outcome was the association between NNN participation and sexual flexibility. Rather than abstinence causing a change, it appears that a pre-existing characteristic (being more sexually open and flexible) may instead predispose individuals to participate in such challenges.