Fascinating Facts About Orgasms You Might Not Know (But Definitely Should)

There are many different types of orgasms women can have, and they’re all f**king amazing. However, while you’re likely all too aware of how good they feel, you may not know that they can affect so many other parts of your body and elements of your life. Have we piqued your interest? Here are some downright fascinating orgasm facts that will blow your mind.

1. Orgasms can make your period shorter. When we orgasm, our vaginal muscles contract, as does the uterus. In doing so, an orgasm can help the uterus shed your menstrual blood faster. Granted, it’s not going to shorten your period by several days. However, it can shorten it by a day or two. This is also why period sex is sometimes a good idea.
2. There’s more than one type of orgasm. While we mostly think of the clitoral variety when we hear the word “orgasm,” there are more. For example, 20% of women can orgasm just from kissing, which seems pretty high. Then, of course, there are the G-spot, C-spot, U-spot, and A-spot orgasms. Don’t forget multiple orgasms and blended orgasms! You may not get the chance to experience them all in your life as some are pretty tricky to attain. Still, it’s nice to know there are more options out there.
3. Your pain tolerance skyrockets during an orgasm. Sure, orgasms feel effing fantastic. But it’s also in that moment of climax that our threshold for pain increases by roughly 107%. Because of this, orgasms are great for menstrual cramps. (Yet another reason to consider period sex!) And it’s pretty much the best thing for a headache. So that whole “I don’t want to tonight; I have a headache” thing that we see in old movies is actually just a bunch of misinformed female characters who were probably written by men and who don’t realize that the best natural painkiller in the world is an orgasm and would do wonders for that headache (as well as other aches and pains).
4. You can orgasm during childbirth. You shouldn’t get yourself knocked up so you can have an orgasm during childbirth, ladies. However,  0.3% of women have reported experiencing one while giving birth. Whether this is the body’s way of coping with that intense amount of pain by injecting some natural painkillers into the situation or something else that causes the orgasm to occur, it can happen. But with a 0.3% rate, I highly suggest not running out to get pregnant just to see if you can fall into that small minority. This is one of the most mind-blowing orgasm facts, without a doubt.
5. Women who engage in anal sex have more orgasms. Again, we find ourselves in a WTF moment, don’t we? While anal still remains relatively taboo in certain circles, one study found that 94% of women had an orgasm the last time they had anal sex. While there’s a physical reason for this, there’s also the fact that women who have anal tend to be more open, easy-going, and adventurous when it comes to sex, making climax easier to achieve.
6. The female orgasm gets better and more frequent with age. If you think your orgasms are awesome now, just wait until you’re in your 40s and 50s. Research has found that once women reach those age brackets and beyond, attaining an orgasm is easier and its intensity increases. The thinking behind this is a combo of experience and higher self-esteem. Also, I’d like to point out that your clitoris is larger at that age than when you’re in your 20s and 30s, but there’s no scientific proof that that has anything to do with it—it’s just a fun fact worth knowing.
7. There’s actually a disorder that leads to too many orgasms. While you don’t usually anyone complaining of too many orgasms, women who suffer from Permanent Sexual Arousal Disorder can orgasm as often as every five minutes to every 30 seconds, up to 100 times a day. Although there’s medication to help with the disorder, which isn’t just disrupting but can be painful, those who have it need to be really vigilant in staying away from any sort of vibrations that might cause an orgasm.
8. Orgasms vary in length quite a bit. For the most part, the average female orgasm, a clitoral orgasm specifically, can last anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds while including three to 16 contractions. However, there have been cases in which orgasms have lasted upwards of two hours.
9. During an orgasm, you become fearless. Although you probably won’t notice it while in the throes of passion, when a woman orgasms, she becomes fearless and her brain becomes more active. While it was long believed that the brain turned off during orgasm, research has proven otherwise. It’s basically just the rest of your body that turns off during orgasm.
10. Aristotle was the first one to write about the female orgasm. According to research by National Geographic regarding the Greek philosopher Aristotle, the dude was obsessed with the female orgasm and loved to write about as much as he could. He was even quite certain blondes had better orgasms than brunettes, which we all know isn’t true and also suggests that maybe he should have stuck to philosophy. Dudes, man. Eye roll.