There is no universal number. The moment it begins to interfere with work, relationships, sleep, or your ability to leave the house, that is the moment it has become too many.
Most men and women in 1997 reported between one and three times daily as their personal norm. A few reached five or six. The difference between healthy and excessive was never the count — it was whether life still felt like life.
Take a single day completely free. Fill it with movement, conversation, and tasks that require both hands. Notice how the urge behaves when it is not the only available pleasure.
Replace one session with a walk, a book, or a proper meal. The body responds quickly to new patterns. Most people find their natural rhythm returns within a week once they stop treating the act as the default activity of any idle moment.
Remember: the question is never “how many times” but “does this still feel like choice?”