THE SEXUAL RESPONSE CYCLE: RESOLUTION PHASE
There is a major difference between male and female sexual response immediately following orgasm. Generally, females have the physical capability of being multiorgasmic — that is, they can have one or more additional orgasms within a short time without dropping below the plateau level of sexual arousal. Being multiorgasmic depends on both continued effective sexual stimulation and sexual interest, neither of which is consistently present for most women. For this reason, some women never experience multiple orgasms, and others are multiorgasmic in only a small fraction of their sexual experiences. It is unusual for a woman to have multiple orgasms during most of her sexual activity.
Interestingly, multiple orgasm in females seems to occur more frequently during masturbation than intercourse. This may reflect several factors: (1) the relative ease of continuing sexual stimulation, (2) the lack of distraction by concerns about one's partner, and (3) the more frequent use of sexual fantasy by women during masturbation as compared to intercourse.
Men, on the other hand, are not able to have multiple orgasm if it is defined in the same way. Immediately after ejaculation, the male enters a refractory period (Figure 10b), a recovery time during which further orgasm or ejaculation is physiologically impossible. A partial or full erection may be maintained during this refractory period, but usually the erection subsides quickly. There is great variability in the length of the refractory period both within and between individual males, and it may last anywhere from a few minutes to many hours. For most males, this interval usually gets longer with each repeated ejaculation within a time span of several hours. In addition, as a man gets older, the refractory period gets longer. In 1978, Robbins and Jensen reported on 13 men (only one of whom they studied in the laboratory) who said they had multiple orgasms by withholding ejaculation, but their claims have not yet.been fully
substantiated. However, it does appear that at least a few men have the capacity to have multiple orgasms before a true refractory period sets in, although it should be stressed that this does not happen once ejaculation has occurred.
The period of return to the unaroused state is called the resolution phase. In this phase, which includes the refractory period in men, the anatomic and physiologic changes that occurred during the excitement and plateau phase reverse. In females, the orgasmic platform disappears as the muscular contractions of orgasm pump blood away from these tissues. The uterus moves back into its resting position, the color changes of the labia disappear, the vagina begins to shorten in both width and length, and the clitoris returns to its usual size and position. If the breasts enlarged earlier in the response cycle, they decrease in size at this time, and their areolar tissue flattens out faster than the nipples themselves, giving the impression that the nipples are again erect. Stimulation of the clitoris, the nipples, or the vagina may be unpleasant or irritating during the post-orgasmic phase.
In males, erection diminishes in two stages. First, as a result of orgasmic contractions that pump blood out of the penis, there is a partial loss of erection. In the slower second stage of this process, genital blood flow returns to baseline (unaroused) patterns. The testes decrease in size and descend into the scrotum, moving away from the body, unless sexual stimulation is continued.
As both men and women return to their unaroused state, the "sex flush" disappears and prominent sweating is sometimes noticeable. A fast, heavy breathing pattern may be present just after orgasm, accompanied by a fast heartbeat, but both recede gradually as the entire body relaxes.
If there has been considerable excitement but orgasm has not occurred, resolution takes a longer time. Although certain changes occur quickly (such as disappearance of the orgasmic platform in women and the erection in men), there is sometimes a lingering sensation of pelvic heaviness or aching that is due to continued vasocongestion. This may create a condition of some discomfort, particularly if high levels of arousal were prolonged. Testicular aching ("blue balls") in men and pelvic congestion in women may be relieved by orgasms that occur during sleep or by masturbation. Although nocturnal emissions ("wet dreams") in young males are well known, females also can experience orgasm during sleep.
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