What occurs to our physique throughout intercourse
The sexual response cycle is the way experts describe what is going on in your body and make you feel and react the way you do during sex.
Sex researchers William Masters, MD, and Virginia Johnson invented the term back in 1966. They defined four phases or phases of this cycle:
Phase 1: excitement. When you’re excited, your heart beats faster and your breathing becomes harder. Your skin may turn red. More blood flows to your genitals. The clitoris swells and the penis becomes erect. The nipples harden and the vagina may get wet. The muscles throughout the body cramp up and increase sexual tension.
Phase 2: plateau. The changes in your body intensify. Breathing, heartbeat and blood pressure increase. The muscle tension increases even more. The vagina swells and its walls darken. The clitoris becomes over-sensitive to touch. The testicles pull upwards.
Phase 3: orgasm. Sexual arousal reaches its peak. You will feel a series of intense muscle contractions as your body releases the tension. The muscles of the vagina and uterus contract. The muscles at the base of the penis tighten and loosen, releasing the semen when you ejaculate.
Phase 4: dissolution. After you’ve used up your pent-up energy, your body will return to its pre-sex state. Your breathing calms down. Muscles relax. The penis and vagina return to their original size and color. You can feel calm, satisfied, or tired.
This four-phase cycle is a fairly straightforward way of describing human sexual response. In reality, human bodies (and minds) are unique. The way we react to sex doesn’t always fit into four ordered boxes.
“We’ve learned a lot more since the Masters and Johnson model,” says Kirsten Mark, PhD, Joycelyn Elders-sponsored professor of sexual health education at the University of Minnesota Medical School. “One thing that comes before the other is rather imprecise for the human sexual experience.”
Recent Views on Sexual Response
For one thing, not every act of sex leads to orgasm. Some people have sex without feeling any excitement. Others have multiple orgasms in a row and fail to resolve.
The model of the sexual response cycle has received some updates over the years. In the late 1970s, sex therapist Helen Singer Kaplan, MD, PhD added desire to the cycle. In her view, people must be in the mood and emotionally ready for sex in order to become aroused and orgasm.
In 2001, Rosemary Basson, MD, professor of sexual medicine at the University of British Columbia, threw the whole model for a loop – literally. She created a circular model of sexual response. Its main idea is that people have sex for many different reasons, not just excitement. And each part of the cycle doesn’t have to be in any particular order. For example, the desire may come late in the process.
Orgasm isn’t the only reward for sex. You can do this for many other reasons, such as: B. to increase intimacy or to make your partner happy. “Just because someone doesn’t have an orgasm doesn’t mean they don’t get some level of satisfaction,” says Mark.
How is your sexual response cycle unique?
The sexual response cycle doesn’t differ much by gender or sexual orientation, says Mark. But it can change from encounter to encounter. “It’s super individualized and really unique to any sexual experience.”
For example, if you’ve longed for someone and finally have sex, the arousal phase may be faster. At the beginning of a relationship, when you are new to the person you are dating, the desire may come before the excitement. If you’ve been together for many years, you may get excited before you even get pleasure.
What can go wrong?
Problems can arise at any stage of the sexual response cycle. The desire may decrease, you may have difficulty getting aroused, or you may not be able to orgasm.
Sometimes a physical problem is to blame. For example, erectile dysfunction or vaginal dryness can make sex difficult or painful. In turn, having a physical problem can trigger an emotional response that leaves you with less of a desire to have sex, says Mark.
But everyone is different here too. Even if you never get aroused, you might be okay with your sex life.
Whether or not there is a problem that needs help “depends on the quality of your life and how important it is to you,” said Irwin Goldstein, MD, medical director of San Diego Sexual Medicine.
If you are unhappy with your sex life, tell your doctor. You could have a treatable medical problem, such as vaginal dryness or erectile dysfunction. Some types of medication can also suppress cravings. Changing the dose or changing the prescription may help.
If the problem isn’t physical, your doctor may refer you to a sex therapist who can help resolve emotional, relationship, or psychological problems that are affecting your sex life. The therapist can teach you and your partner how to manage problems such as lack of desire or difficulty achieving orgasm.
It also helps to learn about your body’s sexual response cycle. Notice how you react. Do you feel excitement What touches make you orgasm? By learning more about your own reaction, “you can have a more satisfying experience and communicate better, or tell your partner what you like,” says Mark.
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