Is it bad to masturbate the same way every time?

Dear Sarah,

I use the same technique anytime I masturbate. Is it bad to masturbate the same way every time?

Dear anonymous,

People stick to whichever vibrator setting or manual technique that they know will make them orgasm. But if you're not exploring different ways to masturbate, you could be limiting yourself.

You may know a certain point in your genitals that brings you to orgasm, and that's helpful for you to know your own body. But on the other side of that, having a routine could keep you from exploring other parts that may be your erogenous zones as well.

For a woman, you always masturbate by stimulating your clitoris, then you might be neglecting other pleasurable areas, like your anus or G-Spot.

Some people worry that having routine conditions your body to only be able to orgasm in specific ways. There isn't specific research that backs this up. If you're only doing one thing over and over again, your body is going to get accustomed to that type of stimulation. And when you masturbate, you're also conditioning your brain to respond to pleasure, so it's possible that someone could get used to only orgasming from one stimulant.

On the contrary, if you know how to make yourself orgasm through masturbation, it can be a great tool to enhance your partnered sex life. For those who are trying to break out of a masturbation rut, it can be helpful to include a partner and try mutual masturbation. You can take turns watching each other masturbate and you can masturbate at the same time. If you have penetrative sex, you could even masturbate while you're having intercourse.

There is an endless number of ways to masturbate, so why limit yourself to just one technique? And while you're exploring, remember that you don't have to orgasm when you're masturbating.

There's nothing wrong with having a go-to technique to making yourself orgasm, but you might decrease your chances for sexual growth.