When you reach orgasm, your brain releases feel-good hormones that help to reduce stress, anxiety and a low mood, whilst providing the natural reset that every woman deserves.
These are the same hormones that are triggered by taking antidepressants. Triggering them when you achieve orgasm naturally rebalances the brain, with the added benefits of arousal and intense pleasure.
An orgasm is an enjoyable sensory experience that stimulates the mind, body and soul, providing calmness, wholeness and healing. And they’re available to every woman. There’s never been a better time to protect your mental wellbeing, so protect it with Emotional Bliss.
Hormone imbalances can seriously impact your behaviour and quality of life so we like to think of these euphoric hormones as our very own mental health pharmacy, just waiting to be used.
Oxytocin, serotonin, dopamine and endorphins make us feel good, so promoting their release is extremely beneficial for reconnecting and rebalancing your emotions as well as reducing feelings of stress, anxiety and depression.
Here’s your orgasm hormone quartet + 1 in more detail:
Has the power to regulate emotional responses and improve your desire to be touched whilst reducing stress and anxiety. Naturally promotes deep sleep and relaxation and improves the immune response whilst increasing our libido, need for bonding and desire for intimacy. read more
Often referred to as the love hormone, oxytocin is a hormone that’s released in large amounts at childbirth, and is responsible for flooding a woman’s body with love and stimulating the nipples, ready for breastfeeding. It then continues to play a role in milk production and maternal instincts and behaviour.
However, it is now also known to be released during the sexual response, [1] triggering feelings of love and intimacy and the desire for bonding, attachment and closeness. Studies have found that levels of oxytocin in the blood plasma rise significantly during orgasm, [2] further supporting the theory that oxytocin is released during orgasm.
Oxytocin increases the desire many females have for close contact after orgasm, which in turn promotes feelings of calm, helping to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety [3] and promoting relaxation and deep sleep.
References:
<[1] Magon, N., & Kalra, S. (2011). The orgasmic history of oxytocin: Love, lust, and labor. Indian journal of endocrinology and metabolism, 15 Suppl (Suppl3), S156–S161. https://doi.org/10.4103/2230-8210.84851
[2] Carmichael, M. S., Warburton, V. L., Dixen, J., & Davidson, J. M. (1994). Relationships among cardiovascular, muscular, and oxytocin responses during human sexual activity. Archives of sexual behavior, 23(1), 59–79. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01541618
[3] Love T. M. (2018). The impact of oxytocin on stress: the role of sex. Current opinion in behavioral sciences, 23, 136–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.06.018 read less
Regulates the mood helping us feel emotionally stable, happy and calm as well as promoting normal appetite and digestion, good sleep and a better memory whilst reducing feelings of loneliness, anxiety and depression. read more
Serotonin is a hormone produced by the nerve cells and is responsible for stabilising our moods. It therefore helps to keep anxiety and depression in check. Low levels of serotonin are found in individuals experiencing depression, suggesting that higher levels promote feelings of happiness. It also plays a role in regulating appetite and sleep.
Studies have shown that the area of the brain that’s
responsible for controlling the release of serotonin become more active during
the female orgasm. These same studies have shown that this can have a pain
relieving effect, revealing that women can actually feel
less physical pain [1] as a result of having an orgasm.
Reference:
[1] Thomson, H. (2018, March 14). Women don't need to 'switch off' to Climax, orgasm study shows. New Scientist. Retrieved July 7, 2022, from https://www.newscientist.com/article/2150180-women-dont-need-to-switch-off-to-climax-orgasm-study-shows/ read less
Stimulates the pleasure and reward centre of the brain, helping to reinforce the positive feelings of pleasure and maintains emotional wellbeing at the same time as promoting good memory, focus and cognitive function. read more
Dopamine is a neurochemical, a hormone produced by the brain that stimulates the pleasure and reward centre of the brain. It’s connected to feelings of pleasure and enjoyment such as when eating certain foods, the thrill of certain experiences and the highs of a gambling win. Low dopamine levels are associated with depression, anxiety, lethargy and a lack of pleasure.
Unsurprisingly then, dopamine is also connected to the feelings of desire and pleasure experienced during the sexual response and orgasm. During orgasm, the blood is flooded with dopamine, reinforcing the positive feelings of pleasure.
It’s also thought that dopamine helps the brain ‘learn’ that the reward of an orgasm has so many benefits, so that it works on ways to stimulate this reward further, by wanting more – the so-called pleasure and reward of dopamine release. This could even help to shape our sexual partner preferences. [1]
Reference:
[1] Coria-Avila, G. A., Herrera-Covarrubias, D., Ismail, N., & Pfaus, J. G. (2016).The role of orgasm in the development and shaping of partner preferences. Socioaffective neuroscience & psychology, 6, 31815. https://doi.org/10.3402/snp.v6.31815 read less
Similar in structure to morphine with a natural pain relieving effect that also boosts our emotional wellbeing and pleasure centres and reduces feelings of discomfort and anxiety. read more
Following on from the news that serotonin can help to reduce pain, the brain also releases endorphins, that are the body’s natural painkillers. >[1] This is thought to explain why it can feel pleasurable to experiment with otherwise uncomfortable sensations such as pinching and hair pulling during sexual play.
Endorphins, often known as feel-good hormones, also promote feelings of relaxed sleepiness and happiness, the familiar feelings of post-orgasmic bliss.
[1] Endorphins: The Brain's natural pain reliever. Harvard Health. (2021, July 20). Retrieved July 7, 2022, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/endorphins-the-brains-natural-pain-reliever read less
Oestrogen is an important female sex hormone, responsible for everything from female sexual characteristics and emotional wellbeing to bone health. As a woman ages and enters her perimenopausal years, her natural oestrogen levels begin to decline until the menopause and beyond.
This decline in oestrogen is responsible for the majority, if not all, of the physical and emotional symptoms of the perimenopause and the menopause. Physical symptoms include hot flushes, night sweats, weight gain, muscle mass loss, loss of bone strength and headaches. Emotional symptoms include mood swings, brain fog, cognitive difficulty, depression and anxiety.
So it’s clear that it can be a difficult time, with symptoms potentially lasting a decade or more. Medical interventions such as hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, and natural remedies including the consumption of plant oestrogens, help to increase the level of oestrogen in a woman’s body, helping to provide welcome relief from symptoms.
There is new evidence that when a woman reaches orgasm, her levels of oestrogen increase. [1] This could therefore have significant consequences for the management of perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms, without the threat of side effects such as an increased risk of breast cancer. Studies so far have only been carried out on premenopausal women, opening a potential research floodgate for more, much needed, research.
To learn more about the role of oestrogen click here.
References:
[1] van Anders, S. M., Brotto, L., Farrell, J., & Yule, M. (2009). Associations among physiological and subjective sexual response, sexual desire, and salivary steroid hormones in healthy premenopausal women. The journal of sexual medicine, 6(3), 739–751. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2008.01123.x
Dispelling misinformation surrounding the female orgasm is important because years of misinformation has taught women that there are internal “G-spot” orgasms and external “clitoral” orgasms. However, this simply isn’t true. The female orgasm is a pleasurable and healthy experience that occurs as a result of external stimulation of the clitoris and vulva, in most cases this can take up to twenty minutes of constant stimulation within a safe and relaxed environment.
Make yourself comfortable and relax, through gentle stimulation your pleasure will gradually intensify, the clitoris and vulva begins to swell and the vagina begins to widen.
The clitoris becomes fully erect and the area deepens in colour, with continuous external stimulation the pleasure will gradually increase, keep relaxed and don’t stop believing, enjoy the moment, your orgasm is on its way.
Be patient and keep believing, some women believe the tingle phase is as good as it gets because the pleasurable feelings begin to plateau, simply not true but it’s important you keep believing. With continuous stimulation your arousal will intensify during this phase causing the first waves of muscles spasm – extreme sexual excitement is building and your orgasm isn’t far away.