TL;DR: Semen retention is the act abstaining from ejaculation for days or even months, typically in order to increase a man’s central and driving force, his libido – his sex drive.
Introduction
Welcome back Upriver, biohacker.
Today we will be talking about semen retention and sexual transmutation.
While we recognize that this may be your first time encountering something of this sort, we assure you that it will be worth your time. With that being said, allow us to jump right in to the crazy world of semen retention.
What is Semen Retention?
Semen retention is when a man refuses to ejaculate and stops sexual engagement before the point of ejaculation, so as to retain the seminal fluid in his body. It is exactly as it sounds; one retains his seminal fluid inside of his body and refuses to excrete it via sexual intercourse or any other type of sexual activity.
Why Semen Retention?
Semen is arguably the most vital substance in a male’s body.
According to Swami Sivananda in the Hindu scriptures, the process of creating semen in the body is as follows:
“From food comes juice or chyle; from chyle, blood; from blood, flesh; from flesh, fat; from fat, bones; from bones, marrow; and lastly from marrow, semen.” [1]
By ejaculating frequently, your body is depleted of an incredibly dense source of energy, emptying your vital reserves and weakening your entire body.
What is Semen?
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During ejaculation, sperm is mixed with fluids secreted by the seminal vesicles, the prostate, and the bulbourethral glands to form semen.
Seminal vesicle secretion makes up 70% of human semen and is rich in fructose, and also contains proteins, vitamin C, amino acids, phosphorus, potassium, l-carnitine and more.
The prostatic secretion composes about 25% of semen. It is made of acid phosphate, vitamin C, calcium, zinc, and magnesium. [2] According to The Constitution of Normal Prostatic Secretion by Heinrich Stern, Ph.D, M.D., pgs. 277 – 283, prostatic secretion contains: [3][4]
- Proteolytic enzymes
- Citric acid
- Proteins: Albumin, nucleoproteins, globulins, 2.65% mucin, nuclein, proteose, protamin, hemialalbumose, alkali albuminate
- Lipids: phosphorized fats, including 0.412% lecithin
- Cholesterol: 0.208%
- Minerals: phosphorus, sodium, potassium, 0.910% calcium, magnesium, iron, sulfur, chlorine
The actual quantity of semen matters as well. An average ejaculation may be anywhere between 2ml – 6ml, which would contain the following nutrients [5]:
This doesn’t seem like much, but perhaps there are other factors that make semen a valuable substance for the body to produce.
Seminal Reuptake
The idea behind semen retention revolves around the notion of “seminal reuptake.” [6]
This process refers to the point where the body breaks down old seminal fluid (as well as the vitamins and minerals in it) and it is absorbed into the body so as to make way for new seminal fluid to be produced.
When a man does not ejaculate for a prolonged period of time, seminal reuptake occurs continuously. This phenomenon is what has led biohackers all the way back to Napolean Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich to recommend this practice. While Hill does not state this reasoning outright, it is clear that he thinks that one’s creativity and productivity is increased as a result of this practice. [7]
More contemporary biohackers attribute this rise in intellectual and physical output to the fact that one’s body has a greater supply of all vitamins, minerals, and even hormones. Often these effects are measured in terms of testosterone increase in men, but the gain in T is just one of the many substances increased in a males body as a result of semen retention.
How to Practice Semen Retention and the Semen Retention Formula
While some people choose to practice semen retention 24/7, the approach we discuss here today calls for a more intermittent protocol.
Owing to ancient Chinese medical practices and calculations, the semen retention formula looks something like this: Effectively men under the age of 30 should only ejaculate once every 4 days. Men in their 40’s, once every 7 days, and men in their 50’s once every 10-12 days. [8]
If you’re someone like I was, you might be thinking to yourself “but UpRiver, I have a partner and they have needs, I can’t simply afford to stop having sex!” Look, we understand. That is exactly why on UpRiver, we provide our readers with an alternative method to have sex called Karezza (check that out HERE).
Some Notes on Semen Retention
Firstly, the question around nocturnal emission or wet dreams arises.
Yes. Sometimes this will happen. However, this is more of a novice response to semen retention. As mentioned, your body in one way or another rids itself of older seminal fluid so as to make way for the new stuff. This can occur in terms of seminal reuptake, but sometimes it occurs by your body releasing it while you sleep.
Not to worry, the desired result comes with time, practice and patience.
Secondly, the difference between NoFap and semen retention:
Whereas NoFap only takes a position on when sexual engagement is permitted, NoFap does not take a position on whether or not you should ejaculate – and especially doesn’t take a position on how often. It simply stipulates that you must be with a partner to engage in physical intimacy.
Conversely, semen retention does not take a position on who you’re with or what you’re engaged in. Semen retention is simply the practice of intentionally keeping seminal fluid in the body. Think of NoFap more as a diet, and semen retention more as intermittent fasting.
Finally, it’s important to understand that even though semen retention is an ancient practice, the science and data on the subject remains speculative and inconclusive.
Notably, however, that is the case with most biohacking information. Seeing as this practice requires no equipment or financial investment, we recommend that you try it for yourself and let us know how you find the practice on our forum HERE.
Conclusion
Semen retention is the practice of intentionally keeping the semen your body produces inside your body. This is so the energy that comes along with this practice can be transmuted into a variety of activities, which without semen retention, would not be performed nor enjoyed to the same degree.
Thanks predominantly to Eastern practices calculations, UpRiver has been able to provide you with a rough estimate of how often a man should allow semen to leave his body. Alternatively, experiment with differing durations of semen retention to see exactly what has the most impact on your quality of life and general performance.
Note: Semen retention has been shown to potentially increase testosterone in men. Another way to increase testosterone is to workout to optimize the body for strength. If you’re interested in learning how to do this, click HERE.
Best of luck biohacker, and keep moving UpRiver.
Click the button below to read the next article in our series on Sex.
REFERENCES
[1] https://glorian.org/learn/scriptures/hindu/ayurveda-virya-the-vital-fluid
[2] https://www.stdcheck.com/blog/what-is-semen-made-of/
[3] https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.c075215546&view=1up&seq=291
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semen
[5] https://jezebel.com/a-complete-breakdown-of-the-nutritional-content-of-seme-953356816
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4708301/
[7]Think and Grow Rich, Napolean Hill, Chapter 11
[8] https://blog.daveasprey.com/bulletproof-your-sex-life/
