After a long day of work/university/doing nothing, there are few things more relaxing than lying on the couch, watching TV and submerging your hands down your pants. But why does it come so naturally? Especially considering it makes us look like we're playing with ourselves (when we're not).
It turns out there are subconscious reasons for us playing with our cock and balls when we're chilling, and they're relatively interesting.
Vanessa Van Edwards, author of Human Lie Detection and Body Language 101: Your Guide to Reading People's Nonverbal Behavior, wrote that we subconsciously default to that position to protect our crown jewels from potential hazards such as your dickhead mate giving you a swift cock shot.
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"You could think of the hand there like insurance against a friend who might give them a nut jab or a kid who accidentally hits a ball at them," says Van Edwards.
That's not the only reason we do it.
According to a study in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, rubbing and playing with body parts in a non-erotic way triggers the release of a calming hormone called oxytocin. So we find ourselves doing it to help us chill while we watch Deal or No Deal.
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Oh and in the winter it all becomes about equilibrium. It's fucking freezing and our bodies keep the balls at a constant temperature for sperm-related reasons, so sticking your hand down there is perfectly acceptable.
So, there we have it. It's perfectly natural for us to put our hands down our pants. Show your mum this article the next time she moans at you for it.
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