Anatomy of the Female Orgasm

In the throes of orgasm, chances are youre not thinking about what you learned in high school biology. But a little refresher may be exactly what you need to hit your peak more often. Both the brain and the body play a vital role in the complex art of climaxing. Since youre likely more familiar with the sensations in your BODY, well start our orgasm exploration there. When a woman is sexually stimulated, the walls of the vagina begin to secrete beads of lubrication. Meanwhile, blood flows to the clitoris and vagina. At this time, the bottom of the vagina narrows to grip the penis, while the upper part expands to give it a place to go. As arousal builds, you can actually see your body prepare for sex. For example, the external vaginal lips grow puffier, and the internal lips darken in color. Your breast may swell, heart rate and breathing will both increase, and a huge amount of muscle tension will grow in your thighs, hips, hands, and buttocks. And then finally, your body involuntarily lets go and releases tension and blood in a series of pleasurable orgasmic waves.During female orgasm, the vaginal walls contract rhythmically every eight-tenths of a second, for anywhere from 20 seconds to a full minute and a half! But without your BRAIN, this incredibly pleasurable sensation simply wouldnt be possible. For orgasm to build, the 8,000 nerve endings in your clitoris send a message of excitement to both the spinal cord and vagus nerve, which carry incoming information from the nervous system to the brain. When you hit your climax, a brain region behind the left eye, called the lateral orbitofrontal cortex, shuts down completely. This area is the foundation of reason and behavioral control. So its completely accurate to say that you lose control during orgasm. At the same time, activity in your amygdala and hippocampus slows down, causing a decrease in fear and anxiety. This ONLY happens in women, leading the researchers who discovered this brain activity to theorize that women need to feel safe and relaxed to enjoy sex more so than men do. Surprisingly though, this is one of the ONLY known differences between the male and female orgasmic process. Now put this knowledge to good use so the female O is no longer just a fleeting phenomenon.