Did you know that around 70% of women do not orgasm during sex? In fact, around 30% of men and women don’t actually know where the clitoris is located.
While conversations about something as intimate as orgasms may have been taboo just a short time ago, we are finally reaching a day and age where women are more open to having conversations about their sexual health and the aspects that go along with it.
In addition to the most obvious benefit of orgasm for women (pleasure), the benefits extend far and beyond an enjoyable experience. Orgasms actually offer a wide range of benefits — and those benefits even extend to your skin health.
In fact, orgasms directly impact your skin, and vice versa — healthy skin plays a starring role in your orgasms and your sex life.
To avoid beating around the bush (or lack thereof), let’s get right to it.
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Let’s Talk About The Female Orgasm: A Bit Of Theory
First things first: In order to understand the potential benefits of orgasm for women, we need to understand what’s happening biologically. Let’s take it back to 1978.
From 1978 to 1994, William Masters and Virginia Johnson studied the human sexual response and created a four-stage model known as the Human Sexual Response Cycle. According to the model, the stages of orgasm are as follows:
- Excitement: This is the state of desire or arousal, where blood begins to rush throughout the body, and blood pressure and heart rate increase.
- Plateau: In this stage, sexual tension builds and the outer third of the vagina becomes engorged with blood. Breathing, heart rate and blood pressure continue to increase.
- Orgasm: During orgasm, contractions occur in the vagina, uterus and pelvic floor muscles. As the sexual tension is released, various muscles may contract as a warm feeling spreads throughout the body.
- Resolution: After orgasm, blood flows away from the sexual organs and the body relaxes, as breathing, heart rate and blood pressure return to normal.
While an orgasm is the body’s sexual response, it’s also an experience that has proven health benefits, thanks to the biological processes that occur during these stages — and it’s about time we stop shying away from conversations about it.
Fulfillene founder Rachael Cabreira RN, BSN, MSN, FNP-C, Certified Sexual Health Clinician and Anti-Aging Specialist, explains:
“This is really a special time in history for women’s health — especially sexual health. As a provider, I’m able to help unlock the taboo conversation and be at the forefront to be an advocate for helping women speak the language of their body and put language to symptoms they are having.”
Healthy intimate skin is a major factor that contributes to a women’s ability to experience orgasm. Let’s dive into some of the top benefits of orgasm for women, then detail exactly what healthy intimate skin has to do with it.
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Try Libido For Her7 Health Benefits Of Orgasm For Women
Now you know the basics of the female orgasm — but how does this process contribute to health benefits?
As Fulfillene’s Rachael Cabreira explains, “It has to do with oxygenation, bloodflow and a hormone called oxytocin, also known as the love hormone.”
Orgasms stimulate the release of oxytocin, a peptide hormone and neuropeptide that is known to have an effect on various emotional, cognitive and even social processes.
Research has shown that oxytocin plays many roles in the body. In fact, a 2020 study referred to oxytocin as “nature’s medicine.”
Let’s look at seven key benefits of orgasm for women, largely thanks to said love hormone — oxytocin.
1. Lowers Cardiovascular Risk
In a 2020 study, researchers found a link between oxytocin and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
The hormone promotes the maintenance and function of different cell structures by stimulating the AMP-activated protein kinase pathway in multiple cell types.
Researchers found that the positive effects of oxytocin in the body may help delay diseases like type-2 diabetes, atherosclerosis and sarcopenia.
In simple terms, the release of oxytocin positively affects the blood vessels, heart, skeletal muscles and other parts of the body, and orgasm is good for your heart – in more ways than one.
2. Relieves Stress
Thanks to its ability to improve cell function and maintenance, oxytocin contributes to mitochondrial fitness, which offers protective effects against both oxidative and inflammatory stress.
It functions as an anti-inflammatory, an antioxidant and a stress-coping molecule that has a positive effect on the autonomic nervous system and helps lower blood pressure.
Research has shown that oxytocin directly affects the hypothalamus and the hippocampus, playing a key role in the regulation of mood and anxiety.
3. Improves Emotional Wellbeing
Let’s be honest – what kind of a mood are you in after an orgasm?
Thanks to our friend oxytocin once again, the benefits of orgasm include improved emotional wellbeing, from increased happiness to a feeling of bliss and even feeling closer to your partner.
A 2018 study found that oxytocin interacts with several neurotransmitter networks, including the dopaminergic reward circuit, to lower stress, increase empathy and improve social functioning.
4. Increases Metabolism
In a 2017 study, researchers examined the effects of oxytocin on eating habits and metabolism. They found that the hormone was able to regulate a variety of physiologic processes, including metabolism, eating behaviors and energy expenditure.
The research showed that a single dose of oxytocin had the ability to increase fat oxidation and reduce caloric intake. In a pilot study, oxytocin led to “substantial weight loss” in adults who were overweight or obese.
5. Boosts Immune System
Thanks to its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and protective effects, oxytocin naturally boosts the immune system.
By stimulating the oxytocin receptor through orgasm, the hormone is able to support patterns of growth, resistance and healing to add to your overall health and wellness and support a robust immune system.
6. Improves Sleep
In a 2019 study, researchers found that orgasms were associated with better sleep quality.
This can be attributed to numerous factors, including the release of oxytocin, which we’ve learned can increase emotional wellbeing and feelings of intimacy, lower stress levels and reduce heart rate.
Decreases Pain
Research has shown that oxytocin has a direct effect on the way the body processes pain.
The spinal cord is a direct target of oxytocin release, and studies suggest the neuropeptide is able to modulate neural activity in different regions of the brain that play a major role in both cognitive and emotional processing of pain.
How Orgasms Impact Skin Health
Believe it or not, we’ve covered only a handful of the health benefits that the female orgasm has to offer. Healthy skin and orgasms go hand in hand.
As we mentioned, the oxytocin released when you have an orgasm reduces cortisol levels. When you think of cortisol, you likely think of stress. What tends to happen to your skin when you’re stressed?
You guessed it — breakouts.
Excess cortisol levels can lead to an increase in oil production, which can cause inflammation and clog pores, leading to dreaded breakouts. The oxytocin released from an orgasm helps keep acne at bay to stimulate healthy, blemish-free skin.
But that’s not the only way that orgasms contribute to skin health. In a 2020 study, researchers found that oxytocin acts as a protective mechanism against proinflammatory cytokines that contribute to aging.
Put simply: Think of orgasms as a natural Botox. The perfect reason to skip the needle and have sex instead.
Research has also shown that having an orgasm increases the level of estrogen in the body.
Why is that a good thing? Because estrogen has a positive impact on skin health as well. It prevents the decrease of collagen to significantly delay signs of aging skin, including wrinkles, dryness and thinning.
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Intimate WellnessHow Skin Health Impacts Orgasms
As we mentioned, healthy skin and orgasms go hand in hand. While orgasms contribute to skin health, they’re also more difficult to achieve if you don’t take proper care of your skin.
As Rachael explains,
“Keeping your vulvar and vaginal skin healthy is vital to optimize pleasure and overall intimate health. Just like the skin on our face, it starts to lose elasticity, wrinkle, stiffen and become thin over time. Dry, thin skin can be irritated easily, and increase risks for sexual discomfort, urinary and vaginal infections, and urinary symptoms.”
You probably have a daily skin regimen for your face, right? If you aren’t spending the same time and effort caring for your intimate skin, it’s time to start.
A daily intimate skin regimen can help keep your intimate skin hydrated, plump and lubricated — key factors when it comes to your sexual desire, function, integrity and the support of your overall vulvar, vaginal and clitoral skin.
Vaginal dryness is typically seen as a symptom that occurs during and after menopause. However, it can happen at any age, and studies have shown that the impact on quality of life, interpersonal relationships, sexual function and even daily activities is frequently underestimated.
Rachael explains, “This is why Fulfillene Intimate Skin Moisturizer was developed — to provide therapeutic ingredients that clinically improve and maintain skin to achieve its healthy state, while providing a sensual experience.”
Fulfillene Intimate Skin Moisturizer was carefully designed to soothe, moisturize, stimulate collagen and restore intimate skin so you can enjoy the many benefits provided by healthy sex and orgasm, from pleasure to stress relief and more.
While there are millions of lubricant products on the market, many of the ingredients used can contribute to burning and irritation, and the only benefit they offer is glide.
That’s what sets Fulfillene’s Intimate Skin Moisturizer apart from anything else on the market. As a water-based serum, the patent-pending formulation includes a peptide module and therapeutic ingredients that soothe, protect and replenish the vulvo-vaginal ecosystem, to nourish the skin from within.
Unlike any other intimate skin moisturizer or lubricant, Fulfillene’s Intimate Skin Moisturizer offers protection while building collagen, maintaining pH and working to restore skin back to its healthy state.
Recapping The Health Benefits Of Orgasms For Women
There’s no doubt that the health benefits of orgasm for women are plenty, and healthy skin is one of them. But the connection goes both ways.
As Rachael explains, “I believe orgasm is the other heartbeat of a woman’s body. If women are unable to have the feeling and sensations of orgasm, they are not feeling alive, and not feeling connected to their mind, body, and intimate spirit.”
Fulfillene Intimate Moisturizer was created to do just that — connect your mind, body and spirit by nourishing your intimate skin from the inside out.
