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Medical Video: Female Orgasm - How It Works & What happens in the Body.
Although the reasons for having sex can be very varied and complex, achieving orgasm in general is the main goal. One thing that can be approved by many people is that orgasm is a very intense pleasant experience.
So, what is orgasm?
When in doubt, open the dictionary. The Oxford English Dictionary defines orgasm as "a sudden body movement; such as seizures, contractions, or vibrations due to a surge in sexual arousal. "
Merriam-Webster describes this sexual experience in more detail, stating that orgasm is a series of physical signs and symptoms that occur at the peak of sexual pleasure which is usually characterized by semen ejaculation in men and vaginal contractions in women.
Leading sex researcher, Dr. Alfred Kinsley once said that orgasm can be likened to a crescendo climax in a musical composition. According to him, orgasm is a sexual pleasure that occurs gradually, from the calmness that becomes increasingly loud, and ends with silence.
Three stages of body reaction before orgasm
Quoted from WebMD, William Masters and Virginia Johnson (two prominent sex therapists) coined the term "sexual cycle response" to describe the sequence of events that the body traverses when the owner is sexually aroused and participates in sexually stimulating activities (penetrative sex, masturbation, foreplay, etc).
The sexual cycle response is divided into four stages: sexual arousal, stable period, orgasm, and resolution. There is no clear boundary where a stage begins and ends - all of these are part of an ongoing process of sexual response. Keep in mind that this cycle is a very general outline of what happens to each body when we become sexually aroused. There are many variations between individuals, as well as between different sexual events.
Both men and women go through these four phases, the only difference being time. Men usually reach orgasm first during sexual intercourse, while women can take up to 15 minutes to reach the same point.
1. What happens to the body when it gets sexual desire
This phase usually starts within 10-30 seconds after erotic stimulation, and can last several minutes to several hours.
Man: Penis becomes slightly erect. The testicles swell, the scrotum tightens, and the penis begins to emit pre-ejaculate fluid. A man's nipples can also harden and lift.
Woman: Vaginal lubrication starts. The vagina swells and prolongs. Outer lips, inner lips, clitoris, and sometimes the breasts begin to swell. Breasts become fuller.
Both: Muscles tighten, pupils enlarge, and your pain threshold rises. Heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing increase.
There is increased vasocongestion, or tissue swelling caused by additional blood flow, which causes three common signs of arousal: nipples tighten, reddened skin, and erection.
At the same time, your brain is flooded with powerful hormones: dopamine and oxytocin, in particular. Dopamine, which is first released, triggers motivation - in this context, the motivation to achieve orgasm. Oxytocin, which comes later, makes you feel bound (which is why it's called "hugging hormone").
As a pair of hormones, these two neurotransmitters can explain why we feel instantly - even if only for a moment - to be tied to our partners when we start feeling excited. Reporting from Refinery 29, brain geography lights up like fireworks during sexual arousal: Half a dozen parts of the brain become active, including the amygdala (which is associated with emotion), the hippocampus (which is associated with memory management), and anterior insula (helps process physical feelings).
The male and female brain does not always respond in the same way to arousal stimulation. Men show deeper brain activity in the amygdala while women are almost nonexistent.
2. What happens to the body during a stable period (plateau)
If sexual stimulation continues, the next stage in the sexual response cycle will occur. This phase, which is called a stable stage (plateau), may or may not be expressed, either verbally or through action or behavior.
Man: Testicles are pulled into the scrotum. The penis becomes fully erect.
Woman: Vaginal lips become more bulging. Tissues of the vaginal wall, one third of the outer part, swell due to being filled with blood, and the vaginal opening narrows. The female clitoris becomes very sensitive (it may even hurt when touched) and dan hiding 'under the clitoral lid to avoid stimulation directly from the penis. The inner labia (lips) change color (although it is rather difficult to see). For women who have never had children, lips change from pink to bright red. In women who have had children, the color changes from bright red to dark purple.
Second: The rate of breathing and pulse is getting accelerated. A "sex flush" (reddish spots) may appear on the abdomen, chest, shoulders, neck or face (like blushing). Thigh muscles, hips, hands and buttocks tighten, and seizures may begin.
During the plateau phase, arousal stimulation can reach its highest level, can be lost, and then arise again several times. Once you reach the top of the plateau stage, orgasm will follow. During orgasm, all sexual tension is released. Only right before orgasm, heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, and muscle tension reach their highest peak.
Orgasm is the climax stage of the four sets of sexual cycle responses. This stage is also the shortest stage of sex response, usually only lasts for a few seconds.
3. What happens to the body during orgasm
In men, physiological changes when reaching orgasm include semen that accumulates inside the urethral ball. This condition occurs when a man feels confident about having an orgasm, or what is called the "inevitability of ejaculation". Furthermore, the penis releases ejaculation. Contractions also occur in the penis during the orgasmic phase.
For women, the orgasmic phase will be characterized by contractions of one third of the front vaginal wall with eight tenths of a second beat. (The amount and intensity of contractions varies depending on the orgasm experienced by the individual.) The uterine muscles also contract, even though they are barely noticeable.
In general, the orgasmic phase can be felt when the respiratory rate, pulse rate, and blood pressure continue to increase. Muscle tension and swelling of blood vessels will reach its peak. Sometimes, orgasm comes with a "grasp" reflex on the muscles of the hands and feet.
For men and women, there are four types of nerves that are responsible for sending information to the brain during orgasm. The hypogastric nerve sends signals from the uterus and cervix in women, and from the prostate in men; pelvic nerves transmit signals from the vagina and cervix in women, and from the anus in both sexes; the pudendal nerve transmits from the clitoris in women, and from the scrotum and penis in men; and the vagus nerve transmits from the cervix, uterus, and vagina to women.
Difference between male orgasm and female orgasm
Although these two sexes tend to engage in different behaviors during sexual activity, the male and female brain is not too different. During an orgasm, the lateral orbitofrontal cortex - the area of the brain behind the left eye - switches off during orgasm. This region is considered to provide logical reasons and behavioral control. The brains of both men and women at orgasm are said to look like the brains of people affected by heroin, according to the Medical Daily, according to a study from the Journal of Neuroscience.
Women are more involved in emotions and a sense of security, men consider sex as a relaxing activity
The difference between the two sexes lies in periaqueductal gray (PAG) - the part of the brain that is activated when a woman is involved in sexual intercourse. PAG is the part of the brain that controls the fight-or-flight response, and it is not activated in men when they reach orgasm. The study also found that women experienced decreased activity in amgydala and the hippocampus when they reached orgasm, which helps control fear and anxiety.
What does this difference mean? Researchers theorize that these active parts of the brain are because women need to feel safe and relaxed to reach orgasm, something that may not be important for male orgasm. The researchers also believe that men may not be too influenced by oxytocin (chemical bonds), which is released during orgasm.
Oxytocin can inspire feelings of closeness, affection, and intimacy, and some people theorize that this is the reason why women may be more vulnerable to being carried away after sex. The researchers pointed out that testosterone levels in the male brain might combat oxytocin and make men less affected by intimate feelings, making dating and casual sex meaningful to them.
Women can reach orgasm many times, men need time to recover
After the orgasm phase goes down, the individual will be welcomed by the resolution or recovery phase, which is marked by the return of normal body function gradually. The body parts that harden and swell also slowly return to their normal size and color. This phase is characterized by a sense of happiness and general comfort, increased intimacy and, often, fatigue.
In addition, the main difference between the female and male orgasmic phase is that far more women than men have the physical ability to reach orgasm multiple times in a short amount of time without having to "fall" into the plateau phase first.
However, the phenomenon of multiorgasm will depend on the stimulation of ongoing stimuli as well as the sexual interest of each party. A woman can not always experience one of these determinants, so repeated orgasms do not occur in every sexual relationship.
On the other hand, after ejaculation, men will enter the recovery phase called the refractory period. During the refractory stage, further orgasm or physiological ejaculation is not possible. The duration of the refractory period varies from one man to another, and usually will be longer following age. However, some people can learn to reach orgasm without ejaculation, making it possible to reach orgasm repeatedly.
