3 Reasons Why Orgasms Are Good For Your Mental Health

It turns out, getting off doesn’t just feel good, it is good for your health. And more specifically, your mental health.

If you are having sex with another person, orgasms can help enhance sex both physically and emotionally and work to improve the relationship and sexual satisfaction.

Keep Your Hands to Yourself

Orgasms are vital to one’s mental health, regardless of whether or not you have a partner to play with. Through masturbation you can learn about your body and communicate that to others. Sex educator Betty Dodson has referred to masturbation as “selfloving” and its benefits for one’s physical, emotional, and relational health are worth noting.

Orgasms lift your spirits.

Orgasms release feel-good neurochemicals like dopamine and oxytocin that boost your satisfaction, and activate the reward circuits in your brain. This in turn helps to reduce stress and induce euphoria which is a great antidote for depression. Orgasms also raise dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) levels which is linked to improvement in memory and brain function.  (Read: Orgasms can help make you smarter.)

Orgasming helps improve sleep through the fine art of sedation.

Endorphins activated through orgasm help move cortisol through the system, making you feel more relaxed and sleepy.

Orgasms help increase self esteem.

With all of the feel good chemicals being released in addition to a boost to one’s body image, how could self esteem not experience a lift?

In addition, there is a cumulative effect. Having orgasms increases the ability to have more orgasms. Some physical benefits of orgasms for women include relief of menstrual cramps through a flush of blood to organs in the pelvic region and a boost to oxytocin (a natural pain reliever) levels. Interestingly enough, orgasms also help to decrease the chances of a UTI forming.

If you are wondering if there is a chance for dependency or addiction to climaxing forming, check in with yourself to see whether or not seeking out or having sexual activity starts interfering with daily activities (e.g., missing work, classes)  If that starts to happen, then it is a problem and you may want treatment. Otherwise, party on.