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The Dynamics of Orgasm

Orgasm is a complex physical, mental and emotional response in humans. In its most simple terms, orgasm is the sudden release of built-up sexual tension (climax) from the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is composed of the sympathetic (controls stress response) and parasympathetic systems (controls relaxation response). For more information on these two systems go to the sections: Dynamic of Stress - The Fight-or-Flight Response; and Healing Relaxation - The Relaxation Response.

Components of Orgasm

Physical Response – orgasm consists of a build up of rhythmical contractions in the pelvic muscles: pubococcygeus (pc), anal sphincter, rectum and perineum (also for women, it involves the uterus and outer third of the vagina; and for men, the ejaculatory ducts and muscles around the penis) that eventually reach an immensely pleasurable and euphoric reflex sensation (climax), which is followed by immediate relaxation.

Emotional Response – orgasm is a build of intensely focusing one’s emotions on both their body and their partner’s body in an intertwining process (a sort of dance together) filled with pleasure, aggressive or submissive energy along with emotional abandon resulting in a flood of strong emotions at the climax, followed by a letting go and a very relaxing sense of wellbeing.

Mental Response – Research has proven that one’s brain wave activity goes through marked changes during the build-up, climax and relaxation phases. 

Men/Women Differences

The orgasm pattern is different between the sexes because women have the physical capability to experience additional orgasms within a short period of time, while men (after ejaculating) enter a recovery phase of relaxation that prohibits immediate climax activity.

In the Indian Tantrism of Sex, there are tantric sexual techniques that teach men ways of slowing sexual movements as to avoid the ejaculation phase, thereby allowing the man to experience several orgasms (though many western men claim this type of orgasm is not as intense).

The Four Stages of Orgasm

Back in the 1960s, William Masters and Virginia Johnson, prominent sex researchers, published their studies detailing four stages of sexual response – excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution. Here is a brief summary of these four stages:

Excitement – The beginning phase can vary a lot in duration (from just minutes to hours) depending of the interaction of the participants. Physiological manifestations of this stage include quickened heart rate, an increase in muscle tension, hardening of the nipples and the swelling of the genitalia (woman’s clitoris and labia minora, man’s penis). Also occurring in the man are swelling of the testicles, contraction of the scrotal sac and secretion of lubricating liquid. Also occurring the woman are secreting of lubrication in the vaginal walls, breasts become larger and the pc muscle contracts tighter.

Plateau

The second phase is evident by the intensifying of the excitement phase changes. In the man, the bladder closes up to prevent any mixing of urine and semen. And the penal erectile muscles rhythmically contract to prepare for the ejaculation process. Both partners experience a tremendous increase physically and emotionally. Don’t be misled by the term plateau, the participants do not level off in sexual activity; rather they gain more and more intensity during this phase.

Orgasm

Physiological changes peak in intensity with an increase in pc, erectile and sphincter muscle contractions, along with the peak elevation of blood pressure, heart rate and breathing rate. For men the ejaculation process completes with build up of semen in the prostrate and final emission. For the women, the uterus strongly contracts, which acts to stimulate the male genitalia and also elevate the neural excitement in the genitalia.

Resolution

Accompanying the sense of immediate relaxation and bliss, the genitals release the extra blood and reduce in size, and the pelvic muscles release tension and return to normal. Accompanying the physical changes, there is an emotional sense of wellbeing, contentment and heightened intimacy that fills both partners.

The Three-Stage Analogy of Orgasm

After the publication of Masters and Johnson’s four stages of orgasm research, another researcher named Helen Kaplan devised a three-stage explanation – consisting of desire, excitement and orgasm. While all the human physiological processes have been covered in the four-stage explanation, we will explore the distinct differences in Kaplan’s three-stage approach.

Kaplan, unlike the pure clinical approach of Maters and Johnson, identifies a beginning phase of desire – a purely emotional, psychological component to be regarded as a crucial factor in the partners successfully progressing through the orgasmic cycle. (In other words, Kaplan’ s approach underscores the need for women to be not merely compliant to the man’s desires, but genuinely motivated in sexual desire for her to achieve orgasm).

Focusing on this difference is instrumental to understanding why so many women participate in sexual activity without achieving orgasm. For example, statistics from The National Library of Medicine and The Journal of the American Medical Association show that ten percent of women never achieve orgasm. In addition, there is also a very significant percentage of women who have chronic or occasional problems in achieving both orgasm and sexual satisfaction in sexual activity – estimates range from 43-64%! (Imagine if nearly one-half of all men did not feel any pleasure after ejaculating… there’d be a congressional investigation!)

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Sources: Orgasm Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org) Masters and Johnson/Four Stages of Orgasm Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org) Psychology of Gender and Sexuality (a-s.clayton.edu/jwalley) National Library of Medicine (http://dirline.nlm.nih.gov)

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