How much do you know about female orgasm

The female orgasm is always surrounded by false information and myths. How many times have we read in the news or wondered how many types of orgasms exist? Why do women fake orgasms? Why do many women find it difficult to reach orgasm?

In this article we take advantage of the celebration of the International Day of the Female Orgasm to explain from a medical point of view and in a clear way the fundamental aspects of the female orgasm.

What is an orgasm?

Strictly speaking, an orgasm is a neurovegetative response produced by the body as a result of stimuli created during the arousal phase.

A neurodegenerative response comes from the vegetative or autonomic nervous system, also known as neurovegetative or involuntary, which is the system that coordinates and regulates body functions that are involuntary, unconscious and automatic.

In short, orgasm is a human reflex, with all that this implies. This was explained in eldiario.es by Dr. Andrés López de la Llave, member of the board of directors of the Association of Sexology Specialists (AES): “orgasm is a reflex, just like blinking, and it occurs when there are effective stimuli that trigger this reflex. So everyone has their own way of having a reflex, of blinking or having an orgasm”.

To reach orgasm, the female body undergoes a series of changes:

• The heart rate accelerates.
• The rate of breathing and blood pressure is very high.
• The vaginal area is lubricated.
• Contractions occur between five and ten times (at intervals of less than one second) of the vagina, uterus, anus and pelvic muscles.

These bodily changes occur in the different phases leading to orgasm:

1. Excitation: the vagina lubricates and dilates, as does the vulva.
2. Plateau: shortness of breath, increased heart rate and all the effects of arousal develop.
3. Orgasm: climax occurs, which lasts a few moments, between 7 and 12 seconds.
4. Resolution phase: general relaxation of the whole body.

Can you distinguish a real orgasm from a fake orgasm?

According to the 6th edition of the Barometer conducted by Control in 2017: ‘Young Spaniards and sex’, “53.4% of girls occasionally fake orgasm”. Faced with this data, a question arises: does porn culture somehow influence women in that climax moment, which is orgasm?

The Bijoux Indiscrets project investigates the reality of the female orgasm and offers a library of 100% real and diverse orgasms, uploaded by real women, that break the fiction around them. In addition, within their project they did an experiment where different people had to identify if the orgasm they heard was real or faked. You can see the reactions below:

How many types of female orgasms are there?

Many experts agree that there is only one type of female orgasm: the one caused by the clitoris. It is the real responsible for a woman to have an orgasm, although there are different ways to stimulate it. In the clitoris there are 8,000 nerve endings and areas such as the vaginal introitus (vaginal entrance) is connected to the clitoris. That is why there are women who manage to reach orgasm with only the stimulation of that area of the vagina. The famous G-spot is nothing more nor less than the root of the clitoris.

In addition, the fundamental organ in orgasm is our brain, since it is where the brain circuit of pleasure or reward circuit is initiated and developed, where some brain structures are activated such as the amygdala (emotion regulation), the nucleus accumbens (release of dopamine), the cerebellum (control of muscle functions) or the pituitary gland (release of endorphins or oxytocin).

What are the benefits of orgasm?

All the physiological changes that occur in a woman’s body during orgasm, from the arousal phase to the resolution phase, cause very beneficial sensations such as:

• Uplifting mood: at orgasm endorphins, dopamine and oxytocin, the hormones that help increase happiness, are released.
• Promote sleep: the release of endorphins during orgasm makes it a natural sedative.
• Reduce stress: the hormones released during orgasm help reduce anxiety levels and accumulated tension.
• Relieve pain: the release of oxytocin just at the moment of climax relieves pain.
• Improve blood flow: climax increases heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure and blood circulation, oxygenating the body’s cells.
• Improve skin: increased blood circulation and oxygen pumping to the skin, making it glow and eliminating toxins.