Health3 min(s) read
Doctor explains a lesser-known side effect of No Nut November that could alter your thinking
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With No Nut November (NNN) on the horizon, health advice on the viral challenge has started to resurface.
For those who aren't as clued up on the internet challenge, it involves abstaining from ejaculation for 30 days, with thousands claiming to take part in it annually.
While it first surfaced online in the 2010s, the challenge is still just as popular in 2026, with some claiming that it can lead to several health benefits.
Medical experts have revealed the true effects of participating in NNN, and while it may not be as life-changing as some suggest, the challenge has an effect.
Now, a Cognitive Neuroscientist and Certified Sexual Addiction Recovery Coach has revealed how the challenge can affect our brain chemistry.
Dr. Trish Leigh, who has over 264,000 subscribers on YouTube, explained it all in a video titled 'No Nut November Side Effect No One Talks About'.
The neurological effects of No Nut November
Dr. Leigh speaks about the little-known neurological side effect of forced abstinence, which is the dopamine rebound effect.
Essentially, when you cut off a form of stimulation completely, your brain's balance system reacts by building pressure, which builds up to the point where it 'floods', though this may not be a negative.
The health expert explained: "Your dopamine system is like a pressure valve, but it's also part of a much bigger balancing act. Every time you resist an urge, you tighten that seal, and inside pressure builds.
"Heat, energy, restlessness - most people mistake that pressure for failure, but it's not failure. It's neurofeedback. It's your brain's balance system trying to steady the scales."
She adds that the tension you feel in NNN is your 'balance system working overtime', highlighting: "The goal was never zero stimulation; it was rhythm, control through flow, not force.
"When you learn to real-world regulate instead of self-repress, that same energy that once ruled you becomes the fuel for your masculinity and your potential."
She advises that you 'move your body' when you feel the urge and pressure, and to 'redirect the current into your real life instead of damming it up'.
How No Nut November can cause a 'flood'
The cognitive neuroscientist adds: "Think of your dopamine system like a river behind a dam. When the gates finally lift, that first rush isn't chaos, it's the water remembering how to flow.
"The current tests the edges. It carves out new paths. It clears debris that's built up. The force that you feel isn't relapse; it's restoration."
She says that due to your brain being starved of overstimulation, it learns to remeasure 'the riverbanks of your reward system'.
"The (dopamine) rebound isn't your downfall; it's your brain remembering how to move. It's finding its new current of balance, and your job isn't to fight the flow, it's to learn how to steer it," the health professional added.
She concludes: "Your brain isn't breaking, it's rebalancing. And when you understand that, you stop punishing yourself for progress.
"No Nut November might prove that you can stop, but real healing proves you can flow."