What is an orgasm?

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The orgasm is split up into four phases that both men and women experience.

What happens when we orgasm?

Basically, you will feel the results of two changes in your body during an orgasm - your muscles will tighten up and blood will flow to your breasts and genital area.

The Excitement Phase

As you become aroused, your vagina begins to lubricate and lengthen, and your cervix (the neck of the womb) begins to move up. Your heart rate and blood pressure increase and a reddish rash often referred to as a 'sex flush' may start to appear across your chest and other parts of your body. Your muscles will also start to tense up.

The Plateau Phase

Your heart rate and blood pressure are starting to increase rapidly. Your clitoris and labia will fill with blood and grow darker in colour and become firmer, as the breasts swell and the nipples harden. The womb now rises further in the pelvis and the far end of the vagina 'tents' to form a hollow space.

The Orgasmic Phase

As you reach the high point of the orgasm, your entire genital area is filled with blood and your orgasm begins. Your body basically 'lets go' and allows all this blood to return to the rest of your body and releases all the tension in your muscles.

Your vaginal walls contract at approximately 0.8-second intervals and then peter out as the climax subsides. Your orgasm will typically last much longer than his and multiple orgasms are not uncommon.

The Resolution Phase

Your body will return to normal as blood flows away from your genital area. Your clitoris will feel extremely sensitive, because it has gone from one extreme to another. Unlike men, women are able to experience another orgasm immediately.

- Next: What does an orgasm feel like?