Is Orgasm Healthy

Is Orgasm Healthy

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Grace Wade is an associate editor for Health.com. While her work covers a wide range of science and health topics, she has a particular interest in nutrition, mental healthcare, the wellness industry, and the relationship between the environmental and public health. Prior to Health, Grace was an associate editor at Insider where she spent the majority of her time trying to hack Google's algorithm. She is also a fact-checker and contributor for Popular Science. When she's not working, Grace can typically be found exploring Brooklyn or hiking mountains with her film camera. Grace holds a dual degree in journalism and science in human cultures from Northwestern University with a concentration in environment, science, and society.

Whatever you call it—peaking, climaxing, or coming—having an orgasm either with yourself or with a partner can heighten sexual pleasure and may have a few added health benefits, like easing stress or relieving pain.

However, research into the perks of orgasms is limited, especially since the experience is different for everyone. "Some people orgasm multiple times, some once, and some none, and that's all totally normal," Rosara Torrisi , a certified sex therapist and founding director of the Long Island Institute of Sex Therapy, tells Health.

With this in mind, the following seven benefits are by no means a comprehensive list or a guarantee for every individual. But they could bring you some surprising mind and body boosts that go way beyond the bedroom.

Having an orgasm releases a flood of feel-good hormones into the bloodstream, which can make you feel happier, calmer, and less stressed, Kate White , MD, MPH, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Boston University School of Medicine and vice chair of academics in the ob-gyn department at Boston Medical Center, tells Health .

According to Dr. White, these hormones include:

Reaching climax might also make you feel more confident, which can further improve your mood, Logan Levkoff, PhD, a certified sexuality education and advisor to the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists , tells Health.

One thing to know, though, is that it's unclear how long these mood-boosting benefits may last due to the lack of research, Dr. White says.

Having orgasms, especially through masturbation, can reveal what's normal and what isn't when it comes to your sexual health. "It's one of the few times people, especially people with vulvas, give themselves permission to touch their genitals," Torrisi says.

Think of reaching peak as an opportunity to connect with your body, so you spot any changes that may indicate a medical condition, such as an STI or a yeast infection. "It is really helpful to know what your body feels like, looks like, and even smells like, because if you don't know what the norm is for your body, it's really difficult to identify when something is off," Levkoff says.

Experiencing orgasms also creates a comfort level with your body, and without that comfort level, you might be more hesitant to share health info with doctors. When someone is unfamiliar or uncomfortable with their genitals, Dr. White explains, it can cause them to fear pelvic exams or prevent them from bringing up concerns with health care providers, potentially delaying crucial care and treatment.

And for her clients with chronic illnesses, Torrisi says climaxing has an added bonus: It offers them reassurance that their body is capable of giving them pleasure.

Without experiencing orgasms, you won't be able to fully explore what gets you off—potentially cheating you out of the sexual pleasure you deserve.

"A lot of people want to have orgasms consistently from penetration, and the truth is that some people can come consistently from that, but most people can't," Dr. White says. If this sounds familiar to you, climaxing via masturbation can give you a clearer idea of the kind of stimulation you need to reach the big O.

Dr. White recommends experimenting with sex toys or touching yourself in different ways until you know what feels good for you—and you can communicate what you like or dislike when you're with a partner.

"Understanding that your body has the innate capacity for pleasure, and it's not dependent on a partner, is empowering," Levkoff says. "Know that you don't have to rely on someone else to make you a sexual being or to make you feel a certain way."

Beyond building the relationship you have with yourself, orgasms can also bond you tighter and closer to a partner.

A 2016 review published in Socioaffective Neuroscience & Psychology found that concentrations of the neurotransmitters oxytocin and prolactin—which are both thought to facilitate bonding—increase during orgasm. Because of this, the study authors believe there may be a link between climaxing and connecting with a sexual partner.

Of course, this doesn't mean that if you don't reach peak with your partner, your relationship isn't strong. But if a sexual partner is particularly good at making you come, you're probably more likely to want to see them again, which leads to a greater chance of investment in that relationship, Torrisi says. Plus, knowing they can give you pleasure might also boost their confidence and satisfaction.

If you're having trouble catching zzz's, consider having more Os. Many people find that orgasms make them sleepy, which is why they can be a great addition to your bedtime behavior, Levkoff says.

How do orgasms induce sleepiness? It may be due to the relaxing hormones that circulate in your system after you reach peak. Or it could be because orgasming is similar to progressive muscle relaxation , Torrisi says. Progressive muscle relaxation is a relaxation technique that involves clenching a group of muscles as tightly as possible and then releasing them. Letting go of the tension can help people fall asleep much in the same way muscles contract and then release during climax.

Or it might simply be conditional. "Some people also build a habit of orgasming before bed, so it's a part of their sleep routine," Torrisi explains. "Therefore, their bodies kind of know, oh! This means sleep."

An orgasm is a series of muscle contractions, and those contractions may help you maintain or strengthen your pelvic floor , says Levkoff. The contractions are the same ones that happen during Kegel exercises : when you intentionally tighten your pelvic floor muscles, hold for 3-10 seconds, then release. (Doing Kegels feels like you're holding in your pee.)

Orgasms also improve pelvic floor health is by increasing blood flow to the pelvic region, which supports muscle growth, Sonia Bahlani , MD, an ob-gyn and pelvic pain specialist based in New York, tells Health .

Regularly flexing your pelvic floor muscles can lead to better sex by increasing vaginal lubrication, reducing pain from penetration, and strengthening orgasm intensity, according to a previous Health article. That's because a stronger pelvic floor improves blood flow to the genitals and may lead to a tighter grip during penetration.

As if improved mood and sleep weren't benefits enough, orgasm-induced hormones like oxytocin and endorphins appear to act as natural painkillers, Dr. White says.

"Those pleasurable feelings tend to dull feelings of pain," Levkoff says, noting this may be why some people find that orgasms relieve menstrual cramps.

However, for others, getting off can actually increase period pain, Torrisi says. This is because orgasms trigger uterine contractions, worsening the uterine contractions you're already experiencing thanks to your period.

Feel free to give climaxing a go as a way to ease your period-related pains—or any other pain you're experiencing. Just don't expect it to work like a magic bullet, since every body is different.

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Associate Viral Content Editor, The Huffington Post
Clearly, we don't need to convince you to have sex. It's hard-wired into our brains to propagate the species. And anyway, it feels pretty awesome. But here's more good news: Having an orgasm could help improve your health.
One of the main reasons orgasm feels so good is because your brain releases the pleasure hormone oxytocin when you climax. Oxytocin is also called the "love hormone" because of its important role in facilitating social bonding between humans . Most of the following points revolve around the release of oxytocin. Read on to discover eleven ways achieving an orgasm can make your life so much better...
In sexologist Beverly Whipple's book, "The Orgasms Answer Guide," she cites a study done by Carol Rinkleib Ellison in 2000, in which Ellison interviewed 2,632 women between the ages of 23 and 90 and found that 39 percent of those who masturbate reported that they do it in order to relax . Whipple says this is all because of oxytocin. When someone orgasms, she explains in her book, "the hormone oxytocin is released from nerve cells in the hypothalamus (a region of the brain) into the bloodstream."
"Orgasm relives tension as oxytocin stimulates feelings of warmth and relaxation ," Ellison herself wrote in an informational report compiled by Planned Parenthood.
Additionally, research gathered in a study by scientists at Groningen University in the Netherlands found that when women experience an orgasm, the amygdala, the part of the brain associated with fear and anxiety, shows little to no activity .
2. An orgasm could make your significant other less likely to cheat.
Researchers in Germany decided to conduct an experiment in 2012 testing the power of oxytocin. They believed that high doses of the "love hormone" would cause men to consider going outside of their relationships, so they gave oxycotin to a group of (heterosexual) men and introduced them to a very attractive woman. The subjects were asked to determine when the attractive woman was at an "ideal distance" or an "uncomfortable distance."
Those who took oxycotin and were in monogamous relationships ended up distancing themselves about four to six inches farther than those who took oxytocin and were single . The researchers hypothesized that instead of oxytocin causing coupled men to cheat, it instead compelled them to hold on tighter to the bond they have already formed with their girlfriends .
3. The female orgasm could make men focus better.
There is so much power in the orgasm that an organization in San Francisco, called One Taste , is devoted to the practice of "orgasmic meditation," in which two partners focus on achieving the female orgasm. Recently, actress and former Playmate, Karen Lorre, revealed to HuffPost Live that she has 11 orgasms a day due to One Taste's new meditation practices. Even men have claimed that they receive health benefits by just pleasuring a woman. In a New York Times article on One Taste , a man confessed that "fixing his attention on a tiny spot of a woman's body improves his concentration at work."
4. Orgasms could help with insomnia.
Why? No one knows for sure, though some researchers and sex therapists theorize that the release of other neurochemicals, like endorphins , can have a sedative effect, reported Self.
5. A man's orgasm could ( maybe ) make a woman less depressed.
A controversial study of college students in relationships at the State University of New York in Albany showed that women who had sex without condoms had fewer signs of depression than women who used condoms or refrained from sex , even when researchers controlled for relationship status and other personal factors.
What does this mean? Semen, resulting from the male orgasm, could be an effective antidepressant for women. That said, unprotected sex is NOT something we'd recommend -- after all, an STD or unplanned pregnancy can surely also contribute to depression , along with other medical and social risks.
The lead psychologist of the study, Gordon Gallup, told New Scientist that he believes the reason semen has the potential to lift a woman's mood is because of the several mood-altering hormones found in it . Gallup said that most of these hormones were found in the women's blood shortly after ejaculation .
“There is some evidence that orgasms can relieve all kinds of pain -- including pain from arthritis, pain after surgery and even pain during childbirth,” Lisa Stern, a nurse practitioner who works with Planned Parenthood, told Woman's Day. That's thanks to pain-relieving oxytocin and endorphins, reported MSNBC contributor Brian Alexander. Alexander cited research from Beverly Whipple, who found that women's pain tolerance and pain detection increased by 74.6 percent and 106.7 percent respectively, when those women masturbated to orgasm.
7. They could help men get over their colds faster.
A study at a German university studied 11 men who were asked to masturbate until completion. Blood was drawn continuously throughout the process, and it was discovered that sexual arousal and orgasm increased the number of "killer" cells called leukocytes . This means that when men are sick, an orgasm could initiate components of their immune system that could help them get over that bug sooner.
8. Steady orgasms could help you live longer.
In 1997, a group of researchers in Wales decided to look into the relationship between orgasms and mortality . They studied the sexual frequency of 918 men between the ages of 45 and 59. They evaluated those who died from coronary heart disease and discovered that those who had two or more orgasms a week died at a rate half of those who had orgasms less than once a month. The researchers concluded that " sexual activity seems to have a protective effect on men's health ."
While women's orgasms have not been studied as extensively, Howard S. Friedman, PhD, and author of "The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life," decided to look into research conducted on couples. He cited a marital satisfaction study conducted by Stanford psychologist Lewis Terman in 1941 , looking at the sex lives of 1,500 Californian couples. Terman recorded the frequency of orgasms these women had. Twenty years later, Friedman and his colleagues studied the death certificates of each of the women in Terman's study. What they discovered was that the women who reported a frequency of orgasm during intercourse tended to live longer than those who reported being less sexually fulfilled .
9. Orgasms will also stimulate your brain.
Orgasms sure get your blood flowing, and that doesn't exclude blood flow to your brain. In August, Rutgers researchers Barry Komisaruk and Nan Wise, asked female subjects to masturbate while lying in a MRI machine that measured blood flow to the brain. When the females orgasmed, it increased blood flow to all parts of the brain while allowing nutrients and oxygenation to travel to their noggins as well .
10. Orgasms could keep you looking young.
Forget Botox, just have an orgasm. Dr. David Weeks, a British consultant clinical psychologist and former head of old age psychology at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, spent 10 years quizzing thousands of men and women of differing ages about their sex lives . He discovered that those between the ages of 40 and 50 who reported having sex 50 percent more than other respondents looked younger. While this study does not explicitly state the specifics as to why orgasms could make you look younger, Weeks says this could be because intercourse releases the human growth hormone , which makes skin look more elastic.
11. They just get better as you age.
There's no reason to stop having sex when you get older. In fact, you are more likely to enjoy it even more as you enter old age. A study in The American Journal of Medicine found that sexual satisfaction in women increases with age . Researchers from the University of California studied 806 women living in a planned community home. The study measured the sexual activity of these women who had a median age of 67 and were all postmenopausal. The findings reported that sexually satisfaction actually increased with age, with approximately half of the women over 80 years old reporting sexual satisfaction almost always or always . So, never stop having orgasms!
Associate Viral Content Editor, The Huffington Post

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Orgasm occurs after stimulation of the genitals or erogenous zones. It’s the peak of sexual arousal and causes intense feelings of pleasure. Orgasms have several positive effects on overall health. Everyone experiences sexual climax differently, which is normal and healthy. But some factors can make it difficult to achieve orgasm.

American Psychological Association. Understanding Orgasm. (https://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/04/orgasm) Accessed 5/9/2022.
Britannica. Orgasm. (https://www.britannica.com/science/orgasm) Accessed 5/9/2022.
Eisenman R. Scientific Insights Regarding the Orgasm. (https://ejop.psychopen.eu/index.php/ejop/article/view/430/html) Europe’s Journal of Psychology. 2008:4(2). Accessed 5/9/2022.
Planned Parenthood. Orgasms. (https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/sex-pleasure-and-sexual-dysfunction/sex-and-pleasure/orgasms) Accessed 5/9/2022.

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An orgasm is the height or peak of sexual arousal when the body releases sexual tension and pressure. It involves very intense feelings of pleasure in your genitals and throughout your body.
An orgasm usually lasts a few seconds and feels very good.
Orgasm occurs during sexual stimulation of your genitals and sexual (erogenous) zones of your body. These include the:
An orgasm can occur during masturbation or during sex with a partner. It is one of four stages in the body’s sexual response cycle :
Having an orgasm is also called climax
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