A 2018 study published in the International Journal of Sexual Health had 687 self-reported incidents of non-sexual orgasms. The triggers were activities like brushing, exercising, breastfeeding, driving, listening to music, being inked, giving birth, and urinating.
How does an orgasm happen?
An orgasm is pretty complex, and it involves your brain. Your brain naturally experiences orgasms in reaction to stimuli which may be physical or emotional.
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When the body gets aroused, the brain increases blood flow to the genitals which results in enlargement and secretion of fluids. Your heartbeat and breathing rate rise, your muscles tense up, and your nerves go into overdrive, sending data back to the brain and voilà! an orgasm.
Sometimes, when your heart is beating fast, your breathing intensifies as a result of a tense situation, your body thinks it’s being stimulated sexually and causes an orgasm.
According to the researchers, "genital orgasms and/or sexual orgasms are some but not all the kinds of orgasms available to humans. It may be that orgasm is not always a sexual or genital event but may be better considered as a set of neuropsychological processes."
Sometimes, the genitals are stimulated like riding in a car down a bumpy road, or a workout routine that focuses on the abdomen. Other times, these orgasms come from entirely psychological sensations and emotions like imagining things.
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Here are 20 unexpected ways people have experienced an orgasm
1. Getting a haircut
2. Smoking weed
3. Painting
4. Cocaine and other drug use
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5. Massages and rubs for the head, back, and shoulders
6. Using a cotton bud to clean your ears
7. Kissing
8. Writing exams
9. Tense, anxious, or emotional events
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10. Exercise like hiking, swimming, dancing, running, yoga, push-ups, walking, squatting, leg lifts, marching, rope climbing, and tree climbing.
11. Traveling by bus, rail, car, motorbike, aeroplane, and bicycle.
12. Playing music
13. Turbulence in an aircraft
14. Reading
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15. Urinating and defecating
16. Giving birth
17. Breastfeeding
18. Eating
19. Brushing your teeth
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20. Just your imagination
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