Crying, laughing and nosebleeds are examples of normal – albeit uncommon – reactions to orgasm, according to a recent small study.
Gynaecologists Prof Lauren Streicher, from Northwestern University, and Prof James Simon, from the George Washington University, used social media to invite women to share how their bodies respond to orgasm.
Of the 3,800 women who saw the post, 86 responded saying they experienced peri-orgasmic phenomena – that is, physical and emotional symptoms that are separate from the biological process of orgasm, but that happen around the same time.
Some of the women (61 per cent) reported physical reactions such as headaches, muscle weakness, foot pain, facial tingling, sneezing, yawning, ear pain or even nosebleeds.
Meanwhile, 88 per cent said they had emotional responses, including crying, sadness, laughter or hallucinations.
Streicher told BBC Science Focus that these symptoms should be considered normal, even if only 2.3 per cent of viewers said they experienced them.
“Normal and common are not the same thing,” she said. “Also, this survey does not reveal the true prevalence of these symptoms. Many people who viewed the [social media post] with symptoms may have chosen not to respond.”
Those who did respond answered a six-question anonymous survey, which showed that only 17 per cent of the 86 respondents consistently experienced peri-orgasmic phenomena every time they orgasmed.
These phenomena were more common during sex with a partner, and only 23 per cent said they experienced them during masturbation or with a vibrator.
The most common reactions were crying (63 per cent), followed by sadness and laughter (both at 43 per cent), and then headaches (33 per cent).
But the rarest symptoms were sensations in the ear and face, sneezing, yawning, hallucinations and nosebleeds, each affecting between six and two per cent of respondents.
Streicher said she hoped this study would reassure women who also experienced peri-orgasmic phenomena that they were not alone.
“Many women who have these symptoms in my survey expressed that they were embarrassed, ashamed or thought something was wrong with them because they laughed or cried inappropriately, or had a physical symptom they were not expecting,” said Streicher.
She added that this research might help gynaecologists better understand what happens to the body when people orgasm, so they could improve how they treat those with orgasmic dysfunction.
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