Sex can make you feel on top of the world, but it comes with some weird side effects sometimes. Don’t stress—these 13 things are totally normal.
- You go from bliss to bed. It’s normal to want to snooze after great sex. Stress hormones are lowered by sex, which helps you feel calmer. In addition, estrogen hormone levels increase, which boosts your REM sleep cycle. This makes you achieve deeper sleep, as found by a study that was published in the Journal of Women’s Health.
- You feel like crying. The sex was great, so why do you feel sad afterward? No, you’re not going crazy. Post-sex blues are a thing and they’re caused by the hormones that get released during sex. Once you’ve hit that emotional high, hormone levels tend to drop, which leave you feeling down in the dumps for a while.
- You make some weird noises. If you queef after sex, it’s completely normal. Those weird farting sounds that come out of your vagina are just some trapped air. Gentler sex that doesn’t involve a lot of thrusting might help you prevent those awkward sounds during and after sex in future.
- You crave more sex. It’s normal to want to have more sex after an amazing session—that’s because of the feel-good hormones that get released. It’s sort of like when you eat a delicious chocolate bar and want more! Who wouldn’t?
- You get infections. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) can be triggered by sex and they’re painful AF! Sex can cause them because friction during vaginal sex helps bacteria enter the bladder from the urethra. Plus, since the vagina is really close to the anus and urethra, this makes it even easier for the bacteria to get into your urinary tract. Make sure you pee lots after sex to flush it out.
- You feel sore. A study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine found that 30% of women experience pain during sex. This can be caused by not using enough lube or having rough sex. This pain might linger after sex for a while but it will eventually fade. Pain after anal sex can also happen and it’s normal because the anal sphincter is stiff and requires lots of loosening up for sex to feel comfortable. As with any pain, if it doesn’t go away after a few hours or a day or gets worse, see a doctor.
- You burn up. If you feel a bit of burning in the vaginal area after sex, don’t immediately assume you’ve caught an STI. This burning sensation can occur because vaginal tissues have swollen with blood, and since the vagina is close to the urethra, this can make you feel burning or stinging when you pee. The good news is that it shouldn’t last longer than a few hours. If it does, it could be a UTI or other infection.
- You want to connect and cuddle. The last thing you want to do after sex is get out of bed. You just want to lie around with your partner and snuggle, right? That’s because oxytocin gets released during sex. This hormone is known as the “cuddle chemical” because it makes you want to bond with your partner.
- You feel anxious. You don’t always want to cuddle after sex, though. Sometimes you just want to be on your own because you’re having a panic attack. Don’t worry—it’s normal, and again, part of those nasty post-sex blues. Ugh.
- You blush. Your skin flushes after sex and it’s actually known as the “sex flush.” It happens because your blood vessels have relaxed, which boosts blood circulation all over your body.
- You bleed. Seeing blood on the toilet paper after sex when you go to the bathroom can be scary, but bleeding after sex doesn’t have to be a serious issue. It can happen from not using enough lube during sex. If you’ve had lots of rough sex, this could’ve caused small tears in the vagina or cervical inflammation. However, if there’s lots of blood instead of just a few drops, you should go to the doctor.
- You feel the urge to go. If you feel like you need to go to the bathroom (and not to pee), it might not be because of something you ate at lunch. There’s a chemical found in semen that actually causes diarrhea and cramping when it enters the colon. OMG. These chemical compounds make your intestinal muscles contract, which can make you have to run to the bathroom. The best way to avoid this is to make your partner wear a condom so no ejaculation can get near your butt during sex.
- Your emotional awareness gets turned on. A study from the Netherlands found that the areas of the female brain which regulate feelings, known as the hippocampus and amygdala, get turned off during sex. WTF? That’s why you’re so focused on pleasure as you approach orgasm you don’t think about anything else. After you’ve reached orgasm, those parts get switched back on again. This means that you get a chance to think about feelings you experienced during sex, such as love, worry, or fear of judgment. Yikes! Seems you can’t run from your feelings forever.
