Happy National Orgasm Day! 7 Facts To Share With Friends

July 31st is National Orgasm Day! Yes, there’s a holiday for everything.

While sex and masturbation is not all about reaching that O and more about enjoying yourself, we can’t deny the glory of a great orgasm. To celebrate, here are some fun facts about orgasms that we have discovered on our journey of creating smart vibrators.

1. One of the most reliable signs of an orgasm is an involuntary pattern of pelvic floor contractions.

While some people describe signs of an orgasm such as an increase of heart rate or more rapid breath, those can also be signs of general excitement or fear (or eating something that gives you food poisoning).

One of the most reliable signs of an orgasm is a specific, involuntary pattern of pelvic floor contractions — 1-2 hz to be exact! It’s a motion that’s fast enough that you cannot replicate it consciously. During the course of the orgasm, the muscle movement will eventually slow down and return to rest.

This is a metric we are able to measure with the Lioness Smart Vibrator’s biofeedback and AI technology, with over 100,000 anonymized, aggregated sessions and counting (yes, that’s a LOT of orgasms!).

2. The so-called “male” and “female” orgasm are more similar than you think!

Everybody has a pelvic floor, so everyone typically experiences a burst of pelvic floor contractions when they orgasm! Don’t believe us? We did a case study of it here, and here are several research articles (here and here) that support pelvic floor motions during orgasm regardless of whether you have a vulva or a penis.

3. The gender orgasm gap is a thing.

You may have heard about the wage gap, but did you know there is also a gender orgasm gap?

A according to a 2017 study conducted by the Archives of Sexual Behavior, 95% of heterosexual men climaxed during their last sexual encounter while only 65% of heterosexual women did. The orgasm gap can be attributed primarily to a lack of sex education, including not teaching about basic anatomy like the clitoris, as well as societal pressures on straight women to prioritize their partner’s pleasure over their own. We have an article dedicated to the orgasm gap if you are interested in reading more about this topic.

4. Not all orgasms are built the same.

Be it the ways people move, squeeze, or relax their muscles, there are varying orgasm patterns. Researcher Bohlen called these orgasm patterns Type 1-4, but we gave patterns different names that are easier to remember based on their shapes. Some examples of orgasm patterns include avalanche, ocean wave, and volcano.

Avalanche

The avalanche orgasm is a series of pelvic floor movements, it starts from a high point and gradually relaxes.

Ocean Wave

The ocean wave orgasm looks like a sine wave graph. The pelvic floor contracts and releases multiple times (the number of times can vary), first quickly, and then slows down until rest.

Volcano

The volcano orgasm is one, extended pelvic floor movement.

These patterns all look somewhat different from each other when seen on the Lioness app, but they share some commonality in that they all move at the rate of 1-2 hz.

5. Weed might enhance your orgasm

Ah yes, the gift of marijuana. We’ve used the lioness to compare normal sessions vs sessions under the influence of sativa and indica.

When Lioness Co-founder Anna tried cannabis, her normal session on average lasts about one minute and five seconds with the orgasm lasting about 11 seconds. Under the influence of sativa the session lasted five minutes with the orgasm lasting about 36 seconds. The indica chart looked similarly with the session lasting five minutes and 11 seconds and the orgasm lasting 30 seconds. Our user noted that although the high session was longer it was more pleasurable, the orgasm was three times longer and felt deeper. They could really focus on the pleasure and it was the only thing on their mind. They also noted that indica felt the best because of the aftershock.

6. Drinking alcohol can inhibit you from orgasming

You may have heard about whisky dick, but have you heard about vodka vag? Drinking can affect everyone’s sexual function and pleasure.

Anna found that their normal orgasm chart without alcohol lasted one minute and five seconds and the orgasm itself lasted 11 seconds. After drinking alcohol it took this user nine times the length to orgasm but the orgasm was two times longer. However, they did note that they felt like it was a struggle to reach the orgasm and was pretty weak overall.

7. Coffee might intensify your orgasms

Ariana Grande did not lie when she sang “I’ve been drinking coffee” on her popular single 34+35. Coffee can give you more energy but it also can intensify your orgasms. Anna put this myth to a test and found that her orgasm lasted 21 seconds longer and was indeed intensified.

Bonus! Could wearing socks help you orgasm?

This is a myth I heard about growing up but never really paid too much attention to it because of how absurd it sounds. We aren’t too sure about the science behind wearing socks. However, when Anna experimented with the Lioness and compared wearing socks versus icing her feet before masturbating and found that, at least in her experience, the belief might have some merit.

Anna concluded that maybe the warmth from the socks made it more comfortable and therefore easier to orgasm. Whether it holds any merit or is an old wives tale, it doesn’t hurt to try this one with your very own Lioness and compare your orgasm data with and without socks.

Now that you know a bit about the big O, go celebrate with a partner or on your own. And if you want to track your O’s for yourself, we recommend having a Lioness (shameless self-plug) in tow!