Women have three types of orgasm including an ‘avalanche’, scientists find

The ‘wave’ orgasm was found to be the most common

Laura Hampson
Wednesday 10 August 2022 11:35 BST
Comments
Dr Hazel Wallace busts myths around the clitoris, female masturbation, and the ‘orgasm gap’

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The female orgasm is an intricate beast, and new research suggests that women actually have three different types of orgasms.

The study, conducted by James Pfaus, a professor of neuroscience at Charles University in Prague, found that pelvic floor muscles that cause an orgasm tend to move in three different ways: an avalanche, a volcano, or a wave.

An avalanche orgasm is when your pelvic floor has higher tension, the study found, which then lowers during an orgasm.

A volcano orgasm sees the pelvic floor stay at a steady lower tension before “exploding” at the end.

While a wave orgasm is more waves of tension and release through the pelvic floor muscles.

To discover the different types of orgasms, Pfaus asked 54 women to use a Bluetooth-connected vibrator called “the Lioness”.

The study found that the wave was the most common type of orgasm experienced by the study’s participants.

In total, 11 women experienced the volcano orgasm, 17 experienced an avalanche orgasm, and 26 experienced the wave orgasm.

The “Lioness” vibrator is designed to detect the force of pelvic floor contractions by using two sensors on its sides. It uses this data to analyse the rhythm of these movements which helped determine the different types of orgasms.

The small-scale study saw the women masturbate at home while using the vibrator over several sessions to collect the data.

“We are doing a long-term study of women using the Lioness to see how these different patterns are experienced subjectively as orgasms, as levels of pleasure, where the stimulation that induces them largely comes from,” Pfaus said in a statement.

The research comes after a separate study last month found the most effective sex position for a female orgasm.

According to a private gynaecology clinic in New York, it pinpointed missionary, with a pillow placed underneath the woman’s pelvis, as the most effective position.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in