Research has uncovered that the female orgasm can trigger a variety of unusual involuntary side effects, according to a new study.
Studies focusing on women’s health have only received a small fraction of global research and development funding in recent years, with Nature reporting that research unrelated to female cancers makes up just one percent of that allocation.
This imbalance results in significant gaps in understanding female reproductive health, including the less commonly discussed effects of orgasm.
A pioneering study investigated this area by surveying 86 women, revealing a range of atypical orgasmic symptoms such as uncontrollable laughter, crying, or even hallucinations.
The researchers named these unusual symptoms ‘peri-orgasmic phenomena,’ a term used in their groundbreaking study that sought insights from women about any strange experiences during climax. The survey gathered responses from women who candidly shared their intimate experiences.
Of those who participated, 88 percent reported emotional symptoms such as crying, laughter, or hallucinations. Physical reactions, which were noted by 61 percent of the respondents, included headaches, muscle weakness, foot pain, facial tingling, sneezing, yawning, ear pain, and nosebleeds.
Professor Lauren Streicher, the lead author from Northwestern University, remarked: “While there have been case reports of women laughing, crying or having unusual physical symptoms during orgasm, this is the first study to characterize what these phenomena are and when they are most likely to occur.”
Published in the Journal of Women’s Health, the study by Streicher and Professor James Simon of George Washington University revealed that half of the participants experienced multiple per-orgasmic symptoms, with one in five encountering both physical and emotional responses.
The most frequently reported symptom was crying, experienced by 63 percent of participants, followed by sadness and laughter, each reported by 43 percent.
Professor Streicher explained to BBC Science Focus that while these phenomena might be considered normal, more research is necessary to understand their prevalence fully. She emphasized that these experiences shouldn’t be seen as embarrassing or abnormal.
The study highlighted that women do not need to feel ashamed about these uncommon experiences during orgasm, with only 17 percent of participants reporting them consistently.
“Many women who have these symptoms in my survey expressed that they were embarrassed, ashamed or thought something was wrong with them because they laughed or cried inappropriately, or had a physical symptom they were not expecting,” Streicher noted.
Participants stated that these symptoms were more commonly experienced during sexual intercourse with a partner, while fewer than a quarter reported such phenomena during masturbation.