From exercise to sneezing: Ways women have achieved an orgasm

So for anyone who isn't in the loop, today is National Orgasm Day.

And in celebration of a day as wondrous as the aforementioned, online sex toy retailer, Lovehoney, surveyed 1,000 people in an effort to get a better insight into the complex nature of the female orgasm.

As most women can attest, the female orgasm is a little harder to come by than the male orgasm, but when we do climax, we generally enjoy longer ones than men.

In fact, female orgasms are on average 25 per cent longer than male orgasms, with the former typically lasting 10.9 seconds in comparison to his which lasts 8.7 seconds.

But if you want to know more about orgasms than their average length, sex and relationship expert, Tracy Cox, who has her own range with Lovehoney, has everything you need to know about The Big O.

1. Describe an orgasm in its simplest terms.

‘It’s the body letting go when it can’t stand the pressure of the increased blood flow in the genitals," she says.

"Orgasm is merely the process of the blood rushing back to where it came from and all those tense muscles releasing."

2. What is a multiple orgasm?

'For a woman, it can be one of two things,' she explains. ‘A multiple can mean one really long, super orgasm or two or three in a row.

"Women, unlike men, can climb back on and continue, but that’s not to say a man can’t have multiple orgasms either."

"Men are capable of having non-ejaculatory orgasms. This is when the man experiences an orgasm in his brain and retains his erection but inhibits ejaculation by squeezing his PC muscle (the one that stops you weeing) and other techniques."

"He has several orgasms in a row, all accompanied by full or partial ejaculation. Some men lose their erection fully each time and others maintain it.’

3. Is there such a thing as a vaginal orgasm?

"Most sex therapists say ALL orgasms originate from the clitoris and orgasms achieved by penetration only happen because the internal legs of the clitoris are being stimulated or the glans of the clitoris is being pulled by the act of thrusting."

"There’s also no doubt that some women can orgasm through intense stimulation of the front wall of the vagina, but that’s still not a vaginal orgasm because it’s stimulation of the female prostate and the area around the urethra."

4. What's the story with orgasms and exercise?

'Ten per cent of women report achieving orgasm during exercise, some women can orgasm purely through nipple stimulation and (rare but true) some people orgasm when they have sneezing fits."

"It’s also been documented that a small percentage of people are able to bring themselves to orgasm purely through fantasy – with no physical stimulation whatsoever."

5. Why are simultaneous orgasms hard to come by?

'Let's take a look at the facts," Tracy says. "Roughly 75% of men in relationships always have an orgasm with their partner, compared to 30% of women."

"Do the math and you'll soon see the chances of both of you orbiting into orgasmic ecstasy at exactly the same moment is highly unlikely. Romantic, yes. Likely, no."

"Quite frankly, taking turns – you have your orgasm first, he has his later – is not only more practical, it's sometimes a lot more satisfying.'

6. Men can fake orgasms just as often as women, how can we tell if they are?

 'Look for the sex flush,' Tracy advises. ‘We all get a rash on our chest at the point of orgasm but it comes and goes in a split second so is easy to miss."

"Most women are tender to touch straight afterwards, too. If you can touch her clitoris directly afterwards, she’s probably faked it."

7. Women have one orgasm for every three of his. Is this true?

"A large-scale study of American adults found women have about one orgasm for every three a man has," Tracy explains.

"One in three women have problems having an orgasm (via any means) with a partner and 80% CAN’T orgasm through vaginal intercourse alone."

"Yet most women have no problems having an orgasm during masturbation, particularly if using a vibrator, and lesbians have almost many orgasms as men do.'

8. What makes it easier for a woman to orgasm?

"The distance between the clitoris and vaginal opening predict your likelihood of vaginal orgasm."

"If the distance is less than the width of a thumb, the clitoris is more likely to get stimulated through a ‘pulling’ sensation activated by thrusting."

9. So, what's the world record for orgasms?

The longest orgasm on record was recorded in 1966 when a woman had a 45 second orgasm that involved 25 individual contractions.