National Orgasm Day: 5 Fascinating Facts About Climaxing, Plus Some Fun Infographics
Did you know that National Orgasm Day is a real thing? Well, today is that day.
According to the United Kingdom's National Health Service, an orgasm is "a feeling of intense sexual pleasure that happens during sexual activity... it's sometimes called coming or climaxing." (Yes, that's an agency-approved definition.)
A day in celebration of the happiest moments in our adult lives deserves a little recognition. So, in honor of the day, here are five fun facts about orgasms:
1. Orgasms can act as a pain reliever. According to Self magazine, a good orgasm can increase your tolerance for pain without affecting your sensitivity to touch — making "I have a headache" the absolute poorest excuse to not have sex. When you climax, you release oxytocin, the body's natural pain reliever.
2. Some women have orgasms during child birth. "When a baby's coming down the birth canal, remember, it's going through the exact same positions as something going, the penis going into the vagina, to cause an orgasm," Dr. Christiane Northrup, a board- certified OB-GYN, told ABC News in 2008. "And labor itself is associated with a huge hormonal change in the body, way more prolactin, way more ocytocin, way more beta-endorphins - these are the molecules of ecstasy."
3. Orgasms can improve your sleep. After an orgasm, the body is in a calm and relaxed state because your blood pressure drops. This makes drifting into sleep a whole lot easier.
4. Women can maintain sexual arousal much longer than men. "Women are not as quick to come down from their aroused state as men are, post-sex," said sexologist Dr. Yvonne K Fulbright. "Many can get straight back into it and experience it all over again."
5. The French refer to orgasms as "le petit mort," or "the little death." Perhaps that's because some have fainted, gone into heart failure, or even died during orgasm. The intensity of the sexual pleasure can kill you.