An orgasm that triggers uncontrollable laughter, tears, a sudden headache or even a small nosebleed: for women who experience these reactions, the scene can seem worrying, even shameful. Many do not dare to talk about it, for fear of appearing as an isolated case or seeing it as a sign of a hidden problem. A team from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine looked into these little-known reactions, called peri-orgasmic phenomena, which do not correspond to the usual physiology of orgasm. Thanks to an anonymous questionnaire broadcast after a short explanatory video, the researchers wanted to measure their frequency and their exact form. The results, published in the Journal of Women’s Health, will reassure many women!
Peri-orgasmic phenomena in figures
A total of 3,800 women watched the video online and were able to answer six questions about possible unusual physical or emotional symptoms during orgasm. Among them, 86 women, or 2.3% of the sample, recognized themselves in these phenomena. In this group, 61% reported physical symptoms and 88% reported emotional responses; 52% had more than one symptom and 21% had both physical and emotional signs.
In most cases, these reactions were not systematic: 69% experienced them only sometimes, 17% with each orgasm. They occurred mainly during intercourse with a partner (51%), more rarely during masturbation (9%) or with a vibrator (14%).
Laughter, tears, hallucinations…
On an emotional level, the numbers speak for themselves: 63% of 86 women reported crying during or just after orgasm. A significant portion, 43%, described feeling sad or wanting to cry despite a positive sexual experience, and 43% described uncontrollable laughter. A few cases (4%) even mentioned hallucinations.
“Women need to know that if they have uncontrollable fits of laughter with every orgasm (even though nothing was funny), they are not alone.s,” says Lauren Streicher, clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and principal investigator of the study.
“Although there have been reported cases of women laughing, crying, or exhibiting unusual physical symptoms during orgasm, this is the first study to describe what these phenomena are and when they are most likely to occur.“, she continues.
Body side, a confusing catalog
On the body side, the complaints of the 86 women ranged from simple discomfort to more surprising manifestations:
- Headaches: 33%;
- Muscle weakness: 24%;
- Pain or tingling in the foot: 19%;
- Pain or tingling in the face: 6%;
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Sneezing: 4%;
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Yawning: 3%;
- Sensations in the ear: 2%;
- Nosebleeds: 2%.
For the authors, these figures show that these reactions, although rare, fall within the scope of a normal sexual response and simply deserve to be known.