11 Health Benefits of Orgasms That Experts Want You To Know About

Beyond the toe-curling pleasure of an orgasm, some people find that orgasms improve several aspects of their quality of life, from their sleep to their menstrual cycle, sex drive, and mental health. “We know that when you have an orgasm, both oxytocin and dopamine are released, and those hormones are quite powerful,” says sex and relationships researcher, educator, and therapist Kristen Mark, PhD, MPH. These hormones and more are part of the reason why there are so many distinct health benefits of orgasm.

"When you have an orgasm, both oxytocin and dopamine are released, and those hormones are quite powerful."—Kristen Mark, PhD, MPH, sex and relationships researcher, educator, and therapist

That said, you shouldn’t feel pressure to have a daily O to reap the benefits of orgasm. Sexologist and educator Carol Queen, PhD, staff sexologist for Good Vibrations, notes: As dandy as daily orgasms can be, people certainly don’t need to have an orgasm every day, and in fact, some people may not even want to. For postmenopausal folks, Dr. Queen explains, having an orgasm every few days as opposed to daily might result in more satisfying orgasms, as the refractory period (or the “recovery” phase after orgasm) grows longer with time and hormonal changes.

Read on for more about the many benefits of orgasm that researchers and experts know about, including lots of information from a previous Well+Good IGTV episode of Glowing Live with Latham with doula and wellness activist Latham Thomas, founder of Mama Glow.

 

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11 benefits of orgasm

1. Orgasms may be able to relieve pain

“Orgasms are actually an extremely good way to relieve certain types of pain,” Dr. Queen explains, and in particular: menstrual pain. “Arousal brings extra blood flow to the pelvic area and orgasm’s contractions tend to affect circulation too,” she notes. For this reason, some people may choose orgasm over pain meds when dealing with pain from menstrual cramps (more on this later).

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Pain relief through orgasm might also be related to the feelings of arousal surrounding orgasm, not the act of orgasm itself. As Dr. Queen adds, “being sexually aroused all by itself changes our pain threshold,” Dr. Queen adds. This is why “genital touch or penetration might not feel good if you aren’t aroused, but the same kinds of touch are great when you are,” Combining both the feel-good nature of orgasm and arousal is just one of the many benefits of orgasm.

2. Orgasms may be able to improve sleep

As Dr. Mark noted above, the release of hormones like oxytocin and dopamine can help you feel less stressed overall, which can make falling asleep easier. This makes sense when you consider how some of the worst nights of sleep you’ve ever had are probably also when you are the most stressed. (It’s always the night you get two hard-fought hours of sleep that you really, really cannot afford to, huh?)

“In addition to those pro-relaxation hormones, high arousal and orgasm may minimize the effects of ‘stress hormone’ cortisol,” Dr. Queen explains. The state of arousal might also help you drift off to sleep easier and help with improving sleep quality, Dr. Queen notes. “Arousal is associated with increased muscle tension in the body, and orgasm relaxes us,” This is especially true for those who might experience convulsive orgasms or that curl their toes or clutch their sheets in the throes of bliss.

3. Orgasms may help improve painful symptoms of your menstrual cycle

Beyond making cramps less painful, Dr. Queen says there’s also research² that suggests regular sex (and therefore, presumably orgasm) could help stabilize one’s menstrual cycle. However, she notes that both sex research and menstruation research are woefully understudied and there should be way more of both. However, the suggestion that orgasms might help with menstrual cycles is “an interesting possibility,” she notes. Free research idea for anyone with the funding!

“Additionally, one possible link to irregular cycles is stress,” Dr. Queen explains, and as discussed, orgasms that can help with stress, might also therefore have a positive impact on any such menstrual-related symptoms.

4. Orgasms help you learn about your sexuality

Orgasm helps you learn the specifics about your sexuality and response,” Dr. Queen says. “Since everyone is a little different [when it comes to what arouses them], orgasm helps you understand what works for you, what you need, and what you desire.” One of the greatest benefits of orgasm is that you get to learn about yourself, sexually. “When you can understand yourself this way, you are also better empowered to tell a partner what you like…and it also helps you feel more comfortable and at home in your sexuality,” she adds.

This is especially pertinent for those who may have a history of sexual shame or guilt. “Orgasm is such a powerfully affirming sexual experience,” Dr. Queen explains, adding that the act of orgasm and the related knowledge you learn about yourself may help you leave shame and sex-negative bias behind.

5. Orgasms may relieve stress

Experts say that orgasms may release feel-good chemicals, which can help relieve stress. As Dr. Mark noted, the release of oxytocin and dopamine is one of the biggest benefits of orgasm. “That’s part of the reason why having an orgasm decreases stress. Having more of that, and being able to integrate that more into your life is going to be a net benefit,” she says, adding that “being able to facilitate that yourself or with a partner will be beneficial every day.”

Relationship and well-being coach Shula Melamed, MPH, agrees, adding that the rush of endorphins released during orgasm can help with stress reduction and “can be really good because [they are] protective against pain.”

6. Orgasms may increase your sex drive

“Sexual desire feeds more desire on a day-to-day basis,” says Dr. Mark, pointing to data that her team analyzed where they found that “couples who had sexual desire and engaged in sex on day one were more likely to experience more pleasurable outcomes on day two.”

That’s because she says pleasure and orgasms can have a cumulative effect in terms of desire. “Engaging in sex and allowing [yourself] to get those sexual needs met actually fuels the extent to which you might want sex the next day," Dr. Mark says. "Our experience of orgasm and that pleasurable release that we feel is likely to be driving additional feelings of euphoria and [the] wanting of that feeling again the next day.”

7. Orgasms may help facilitate mindfulness

“Adding [orgasms] to that overall mindfulness and wellness routine can be really helpful,” Melamed says, noting that the event provides an opportunity to be more present and in tune with our bodies. Whether you're with a partner, using a toy, or using your hand, when you think about your orgasm as a way “to commune with your body,” she adds, you’ll “really pay attention to the sensations rather than the performance.”

8. Orgasms may boost mood

Considering the myriad of hormones released during orgasm like oxytocin and dopamine that our experts described above, it also makes sense that orgasms might not just relieve stress, but also boost mood in general. I mean, they don’t call it afternoon delight for nothing, huh?

9. Orgasms may help strengthen your pelvic floor muscles

While experts often say that stronger pelvic muscles can lead to better orgasms, new research seems to indicate that there may actually be a reciprocal relationship between the two. According to a study from 2022³, sexually induced orgasms proved to be more effective than kegel exercises in strengthening pelvic floor muscles in women who had prior uncomplicated vaginal deliveries.

10. Orgasms may enhance circulation

Or, at the very least, make you more productive at work. It sounds like a stretch, but stay with us here. As sexologist Suzannah Weiss previously told Well+Good, a 2006 study⁴ found that people who recently had sex had lower stress and lower blood pressure when they had to give a big speech later. So, if you’re nervous about public speaking or an important presentation later on in the day, maybe schedule in some morning sex (with subsequent dopamine and oxytocin-flooding orgasms) to get your day off on the right foot?

11. Orgasms might make you feel closer to your partner

Sharing the intimacy of a pleasurable experience like orgasm with a partner can also make things way more intense in an emotional way in addition to the physical, thanks to hormones like oxytocin, dopamine, and prolactin. Research⁵ has linked prolactin, a hormone that helps make breast milk, to partners who cuddled and had sex with each other a lot. The 2015 study, which looked at primates, suggested that the cuddle hormone that bonded mothers with their offspring also bonded romantic and sexual partners.