Get down: National Orgasm Day is a celebration of the climax for men and women
Orgasms are very popular - hence today being named an annual celebration.
But while National Orgasm Day is bound to be popular, some are still not certain of what exactly they entail.
When you have an orgasm, your heart beats faster and your breathing gets quicker and heavier, says the NHS.
But from this list, there are so many more reasons to have orgasms - and so much more to learn about them.
People who orgasm more times look younger
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Alone or together: A good sex life is second only to exercise in keeping people looking young
Dr. David Weeks, a British consultant clinical psychologist and former head of old age psychology at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, surveyed 3,500 people and found those who had more orgasms looked younger.
A vigorous sex life was the second-most important determinant of how young a person looked.
Only physical activity proved more important than sex in keeping aging at bay.
2. Climaxing is a great natural stress reliever
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Anxiety attack: If you're feeing wound up, you want to get some oxytocin on the go
When we orgasm, the hormone oxytocin is released from nerve cells in the hypothalamus into the bloodstream and this molecule, affectionately known as the “love molecule”, helps people feel warm and fuzzy and induces feelings of optimism, increased self-esteem and trust.
Studies have also shown that a rise in oxytocin levels can relieve pain including from headache, cramps and overall body aches.
Climaxing helps tackle insomnia
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Wide awake: But orgasms can help to tackle insomnia
While (anecdotally) sleepiness after orgasm is more associated with men than women, it can actually similarly affect both sexes.
Our brains release a cocktail of chemicals upon climax, which include oxytocin and vasopressin. These chemicals are associated with releases of melatonin, which helps regulate your sleep.
Birthgasms exist - and woman have them
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Timing is everything: Apparently it's possible to have an orgasm giving birth - called a birthgasm
Literally an orgasm when you're giving birth, it may seem like the furthest thing from your mind, but Orgasmic Childbirth, a film by childbirth educator Debra Pascali-Bonaro says labour is sexual and that pleasure during it is "a neglected human right."
There are masturbation world records
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Northing better to do: Longest time spent masturbating to orgasm is 6 hours 30 minutes for a woman
The world record for the longest time spent masturbating to orgasm is 6 hours 30 minutes for a woman, and 8 hours 30 minutes for a man.
There was no details specifying the erotic material they were using as a stimulus.
Some women faint when they climax and, in rare cases, have had heart failure and died.
Coregasms are a thing, too
Core blimey: A coregasm is an exercise-induced orgasm
A coregasm is an exercise-induced orgasm, most widely reported to occur during core work.
First discussed through anecdotal accounts in 1953, sexologist Alfred Kinsey wrote in Sexual Behavior in the Human Female that 5% of women he spoke with mentioned experiencing orgasms during exercise.
Semen has antidepressant properties
Get happy: Semen can have antidepressant properties
A study from the State University of New York found that women who regularly have unprotected sex are less depressed.
It seems semen contains a hefty cocktail of molecules including mood-elevating estrogen and oxytocin, cortisol, melatonin, anti-depressant prolactin, thyrotropin releasing hormone and serotonin.
Orgasms boost the immune system
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Feel better: Ogasms are proven to have a positive effect on the immune system
According to the British Medical Journal, there's a strong correlation between orgasms and mortality rates.
Those who orgasm two times a week or more can add up to eight years on to their life. Apparently it boosts the immune system, heart health and brain power.
So orgasms make us not only look younger, they help us to live longer too.
Men and women’s orgasm contractions both occur at 0.8 second intervals
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Get into a rhythm: Simultaneous climaxes occur at regular intervals
Most couples tend not to orgasm together during coitus, with the vast majority of females, 69%, stating they rarely or never orgasm from intercourse alone while 75% of males do according to the LELO global sex survey.
It’s widely known more than two thirds of women prefer clitoral stimulation, but did you know that when men and women do reach climax, their orgasmic contractions both occur at 0.8 second intervals.
You can train yourself to have a better orgasm
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Watch and learn: You can train your body to have better orgasms
The muscles that contract during orgasm are called PC muscles, a hammock-like structure that supports your pelvic organs.
Kegel exercises train this set of muscles, and offer well-known benefits such as better bladder control
However, in both men and women, performing regular Kegels can increase the intensity and frequency of orgasms as well
Dr Ian Kerner, author of She Comes First says: “Your intimate muscles are like any other muscle: their power and efficiency improve with a regular work out.”
There are climaxing creatures in the animal kingdom
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Animal magic: Rabbits are suspected to have climaxed as are ferrets
It's still unproven whether female animals have orgasms - but according to a researcher at The Kinsey Institute, rabbits and ferrets do.
Apparently a film of two ferrets mating showed, "by the expression on the face that an orgasm did occur".
Some women could orgasm once every 0.6 minutes
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Female focus: Some women can climax up to 100 times in one hour
Sex researchers Cauthery and Cole, authors of The Fundamentals Of Sex, have claimed that it's possible for some women to orgasm up to 100 times in an hour.
The average speed of male ejaculation is 28 mph
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Speed games: The average ejaculation moves pretty fast
Which means they're travelling faster that Usain Bolt (just) - but once sperm enter the vagina, they slow down.
It takes 5 minutes to travel the 6 inches to the cervix and can take up to 72 hours to reach an egg, says Mark Elliot, director of the Institute for Psychological and Sexual Health in Columbus, Ohio.
Usain Bolt on the other hand has a top speed of just 27.78mph.
Orgasms get better with age
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Training is everything: The older you get, the better orgasms can be
The LELO Global Sex Survey shows only 4% of females are fully satisfied with their climax and only 31% orgasm during intercourse.
But the older women get, the more satisfaction they report, with more than 75% of those over 60 claiming their satisfaction is better than ever before, and more claim to orgasm during intercourse.
It seems the pleasures obtained from sexual activity are so great, there’s even a special day set aside for it in the UK. Dubbed appropriately National Orgasm Day, it highlights the health and psychological benefits experienced, and a sex therapist has given a lowdown on exactly why orgasms are so darn good for us.
While National Orgasm Day might sound like a bit of a joke or a PR stunt by a sex toy company, and the Twittersphere naturally had a field day, the orgasm is so much more than a moment of sheer pleasure it seems. It also greatly improves our health, can keep us looking younger, and even make us live longer.
The actual experience of an orgasm can be different from person to person, but everyone agrees that the intense pleasure from experiencing an orgasm is wonderful indeed. However, for those women who do not experience this climax to a sexual encounter, it can also cause much anxiety and stress.
Sometimes we are so worried about actually achieving an orgasm, especially at the same time as our partner, we actually forget to relax and simply enjoy the experience of touch and sexual pleasure.
Like in the movie When Harry Met Sally, some women are known to fake an orgasm purely to calm their partner’s concern, but that is not the answer. What can help, of course, is to let your partner know exactly what gives you pleasure, and they will be sure to want to help.
According to an article in the Independent by Victoria Lehmann, sexual and relationship therapist and adviser to the Sexual Advice Association, when a person, male or female, cannot achieve orgasm, the type of sexual dysfunction is called anorgasmia.
Experts estimate that around 4.7 percent of women suffer from this, although little research has been carried out. Occasionally, we are worried that our children or other people might hear the noise of our love making, which has a drastic effect on the possibilities of orgasm.
Men get worried that they have failed in some way if their partners don’t achieve the finality required. But rarely do we speak to each other about our concerns and worries.
If you don’t think about it, maybe it will come. What sex therapists say is the most important part of the sexual act is to forget about having an orgasm, relax and focus on all the wonderful sensations and pleasurable feelings and eventually the much-wanted orgasm can follow.
Whether you are currently experiencing orgasms on a regular basis or not, the experts behind National Orgasm Day list the following benefits achieved from the pleasurable experience.
Besides speeding up our breathing and giving us a cardiac workout, orgasms have all kinds of other effects on our health. According to Dr. David Weeks, a British consultant clinical psychologist, the Royal Edinburgh Hospital surveyed 3,500 people and made the discovery that those who achieved orgasm looked younger. However, he did add that physical activity proved more important than sex in keeping a young appearance.
The act of experiencing an orgasm releases the hormone oxytocin, known affectionately as the “love molecule,” which instantly makes people feel warm and fuzzy, almost like a natural anti-depressant. Experts reckon that a rise in oxytocin levels can also relieve pain, including that headache the wife had prior to you convincing her to have sex.
Besides oxytocin, another chemical called vasopressin is released, and both chemicals are associated with the release of melatonin, which can often help in sleep disorders. That pleasurable release can make you snooze like an infant.
The Mirror quotes from a study run by the State University of New York which showed that women who experience unprotected sex on a regular basis are less depressed.
It turns out semen contains a magical cocktail of anti-depressant chemicals like estrogen, oxytocin, cortisol, and melatonin, along with the anti-depressant prolactin, thyrotropin, and serotonin. Isn’t nature just wonderful?
Last, but by no means least, as National Orgasm Day closes for another year, the British Medical Journal states that there is a strong correlation between orgasms and mortality rates. They calculate that people who orgasm twice a week or more can add around eight years to their lives. This is due to the fact that the act boosts the immune system and improves brain and heart power.
So imagine that, experiencing regular orgasms can not only give us extreme pleasure, it can make us look younger, feel so much happier, and can also extend our lives.
On that note the LELO Global Sex Survey revealed that the older women get, the more satisfaction they receive from the act of sexual climax. More than 75 percent of those over the age of 60 surveyed claimed their satisfaction was far better than before. So that’s a good thing to bear in mind as we age in life — there have to be some benefits, right?
So again, as National Orgasm Day comes to a close for another year, it seems Nicki Minaj is concerned about women who don’t achieve climax, as reported on the Inquisitr recently.
