Orgasms make up an important part of sexual health and wellness, so why are they so confusing? Why do some women climax easily, while others struggle to reach that point? Not understanding orgasms can lead to further problems with your sexual wellbeing, so let’s take a look at some of the facts.
1. What is an orgasm?
On a physiological level, when you have an orgasm, your body suddenly discharges accumulated sexual tension, which causes rhythmic muscular contractions in your pelvic area. As you’re probably aware, this produces intensely pleasurable sensations followed by rapid relaxation. However, there is also a psychological experience that comes with orgasms in which your mind is focused solely on the personal experience and gives way to pleasure and abandon.
2. When do orgasms occur?
If you’ve seen Masters of Sex, you may have picked up on the fact that there are four stages in the sexual cycle. Masters and Johnson’s original research of the human sexual response cycle shows that orgasm is the third stage, preceded by a plateau and followed by the resolution phase. However, Helen Singer Kaplan, MD, PhD, has provided another, widely accepted model of the sexual response cycle that involves just three stages: desire, excitement and orgasm.
3. Are all orgasms the same?
Not only do orgasms vary from person to person; they also diverge for you as an individual at different times. You alone can experience an explosive, amazing rush of sensations, and, at another time, have a milder, subtler, and less intense orgasm. There are physical factors that can affect the intensity of orgasm – such as fatigue and the length of time since your last orgasm – and psychosocial factors – including mood, your relationship, activity, expectations, and feelings about the experience – also play a role.
4. What are the physical features of an orgasm?
First of all, your orgasms don’t only happen in your pelvis, but all over your body. Research has shown that, during an orgasm, your brain wave patterns distinctly change and muscles all over your body contract. During this phase of sexual response, you might find that your facial muscles involuntarily contract so that it looks like you’re grimacing or expressing displeasure. However, contrary to appearances, this expression indicates that you’re highly aroused. Without a doubt, the most characteristic physical feature of an orgasm is the sensation you feel. For women, this comes from contractions of the anal sphincter, rectum, perineum, uterus and outer third of the vagina (the orgasmic platform), while men experience contractions of the anal sphincter, rectum, perineum, ejaculatory ducts and muscles around the penis.
5. How do the contractions work?
In most orgasms, your first few contractions are intense and occur close together, at about 0.8-second intervals. However, these contractions diminish in intensity and duration as the orgasm continues, and they also occur at less frequent intervals.
6. Is there a gender difference?
Even though you and your partner are anatomically very different, there are great similarities between male and female orgasms, both physiologically and psychologically speaking. In fact, researchers have put sexual health experts to the test to see whether or not they could determine the difference with all the anatomical references removed, and the experts have come up wanting. That said, when it comes to the subjective experience of orgasms, men and women describe it differently:
- Women: A sense of suspension, quickly followed by an intensely pleasurable feeling usually beginning at the clitoris and spreading throughout the pelvis. Warm, electric or tingly feelings begin in the genitals and spread through some portion of the body. Most women also feel muscle contractions in their vagina or lower pelvis, described as “pelvic throbbing”.
- Men: A sensation of deep warmth or pressure that corresponds to ejaculatory inevitability, or the point when ejaculation cannot be stopped. This leads to sharp, intensely pleasurable contractions involving the pc muscles, anal sphincter, rectum, perineum and genitals, often described as a “pumping” sensation. This ends with a warm rush of fluid travelling through the urethra during ejaculation.
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