What is the Refractory Period and Can You Shorten It? - Ro.Co

A refractory period is the time it takes to recover following an orgasm. Refractory periods vary from minutes to hours and can differ between men and women. GetafreevisitforEDtreatment.Startnow Penis Lastupdated:Dec06,2021 4minread Whatistherefractoryperiod?Canyoushortenit? Arefractoryperiodisthetimeittakestorecoverfollowinganorgasm.Refractoryperiodsvaryfromminutestohoursandcandifferbetweenmenandwomen.Yourrefractoryperiodcanalsogetlongerwithage. Reviewedby FelixGussone,MD Writtenby MichaelMartin tableofcontents Whathappensduringtherefractoryperiod? Refractoryperiodformales Refractoryperiodforfemales Howageaffectstherefractoryperiod Whatelseaffectstherefractoryperiod? Cantherefractoryperiodbeshortened? Seemore Disclaimer Ifyouhaveanymedicalquestionsorconcerns,pleasetalktoyourhealthcareprovider.ThearticlesonHealthGuideareunderpinnedbypeer-reviewedresearchandinformationdrawnfrommedicalsocietiesandgovernmentalagencies.However,theyarenotasubstituteforprofessionalmedicaladvice,diagnosis,ortreatment. It’sbecomearecurringgaginmoviesandTV:immediatelyafterarollickingroundofsex,onepartnerrollsovertofindtheotherfastasleep.  Theculprit,whilefunnyonthebigscreen,isinaveryrealphasecalledtherefractoryperiod—theperiodoftimeafteranorgasmwhenyoucan’tbesexuallyarousedagain.Readontolearnmoreaboutrefractoryperiodsandwhatyoucandotoshortenthem. Get$15offyourfirstmonthofEDtreatment Ifprescribed,getEDtreatmentdelivereddiscreetlydirectlytoyourdoor. Learnmore Whathappensduringtherefractoryperiod? FamoussexresearchersMastersandJohnsondescribedfourphasesofthesexualcycle,eachwithitsownuniquecharacteristics.  Thefirstphase,excitement,ismarkedbyanerectioninpeoplewithpenisesandvaginallubricationinthosewithvaginas.Thesecondphase,plateau,isamagnificationoftheexcitementphase.Thisisfollowedbyathird(andmaybefavorite)phase,orgasm.Resolutionisthefinalphasethatoccursafterorgasm.It’stheperiodoftimewhenbloodflowtoandfromthegenitalsreturnstonormal(Rowland,2017).  Therefractoryperiodtakesplaceduringthisresolutionphase,andanotherorgasmcan’toccuruntilresolutionhasended.Refractoryperiodscanbeexperiencedquitedifferentlybetweenpeople. Refractoryperiodformales Ifyouhaveapenis,youmaybefamiliarwithneedingsometimetoregroupafteranorgasm.  Whenitcomestoejaculation,it’sprettymuchoneanddonebeforeyourerectionsubsides.Duringthemalerefractoryperiod,it’sphysicallyimpossibletogetanerectionandthebodydoesn’trespondtosexualstimulation.Eventhinkingaboutsexmightnotseemcompellingtosome.  Therehasbeenlittleresearchintoexactlywhyrefractoryperiodshappen.Oneverysmallstudysuggestedthatahormonecalledprolactinistoblame.Whenmenejaculate,thebrainreleasesprolactin,whichmakesthemfeelrelaxedandsatisfied.Inthatsmallstudy,however,oneman’sprolactinlevelsdidn’tincreaseafterorgasm—andhehappenedtobetheoneparticipantwhocouldhavemultipleorgasms(Haake,2002).  Onecatchwithprolactiniswomenalsoreleaseitafterorgasming.Highprolactinlevelscanlowerawoman’ssexualfunctionaswell,yetawoman’srefractoryperiodexperienceisverydifferentfromaman’saswe’llseebelow.Thelengthoftherefractoryperiodvarieswidelyamongstmen.Someguysneedjustafewminutes,whileothersrequirehours.Veryfewmenareabletophysicallyhavemultipleorgasms(Wibowo,2016;Kadioglu,2005). Ultimately,moreresearchisneededtodeterminewhethertherefractoryperiodistheresultofonephysiologicalcauseoracombinationofmultiplefactors. Sexualperformanceanxiety:causes,symptoms,andhowtoovercome Sexualandreproductivehealth Lastupdated:Sep16,2021 5minread Refractoryperiodforfemales Forpeoplewithvaginas,therefractoryperiodcanbeveryshort.Youmightbecomearousedandevenhaveadditionalorgasmsverysoonafterthelastone.Thisiswhysomewomencanhavemultipleorgasmswithoutmuchrecoverytime.  Therehasbeenlittleresearchintotherefractoryperiodingeneral,andthemajorityofithasbeenfocusedonmen.Moreresearchisneededtobetterunderstandtherefractoryperiodinwomen. Howageaffectstherefractoryperiod Aspeopleage,theirlevelsofsexualdesireandsexualresponsecyclecanchange.Itcantakemoretimeformentogetanerectionandthoseerectionsmaynotbeaslong-lasting.Womenmayfindthattheirvaginallubricationdecreaseswithage,especiallyoncetheyreachmenopause.  Asaresultofthesebiologicalchanges(letaloneotherpsychologicalorrelationshipchangesthatmayoccurovertime)therefractoryperiodoftenbecomeslonger.  Whatelseaffectstherefractoryperiod? Cardiovascularhealth.Youroverallhealth,particularlyyourcardiovascularhealth,canaffectmanyaspectsofyoursexualhealth,includingyourerectionsandrefractoryperiod.Ifyou’refitandyourheartandbloodvesselsarehealthy,there’sagreaterchancethatbloodisflowingwhereitneedstobemorereadily.That’sahugepluswhenitcomestogettinganerection,bothbeforeandafteranorgasm. Yourrelationship.“Yourrefractoryperiodcanchangedaytoday,weektoweek,andofcoursepartnertopartner,”saysSethCohen,MD,MPH,aurologistatNYULangoneHealthinNewYorkCity.“Ifyou’renotintothepersonyou’rewithrightnow,itmightbeoneanddone,andit’shardtogetarousedagain.Ifyou’rewithsomebodyyou’resuper-into,youmightfinishonceandbereadytogo[againsoon].”Yoursexualarousallevel.Ifyoufeellikethesexyou’rehavingisgreatorit’sbeenawhilesinceyourlastencounter,youmighthaveashorterrefractoryperiod.Youmightnotbeasturnedonduringaparticularsessionorhaveacclimatizedtoasexualroutine.Butliketheothervariablesthatimpacttherefractoryperiod,theycanvaryquiteabit.Excitingsexdoesn’tautomaticallymeanyou’llhaveashortrefractoryperiod. Erogenouszonesforwomenandmen Sexualandreproductivehealth Lastupdated:Apr14,2022 4minread Cantherefractoryperiodbeshortened? Itmaybepossibletoshortentherefractoryperiodwithlifestylechanges.Asmentionedabove,erectionsarebestwhenyou’rehealthy.Afewlifestylethingsyoucandoonyourownthatcanhelpimproveerectionsandyouroverallhealthinclude: RegularexerciseEatadiversedietrichinfruitsandvegetablesMaintainahealthyweightAvoidingtobaccoanddrinkalcoholinmoderation  Ifyouhaveconcernsaboutyourrefractoryperiodorotheraspectsofyoursexualhealth,ahealthcareprovidermaybeabletohelp.Also,keepinmindtherearemanyaspectstoanenjoyable,healthysexlife—andapost-sexnaplikeinthemoviescanbeoneofthem! References Haake,P.,Exton,M.,Haverkamp,J.,Krämer,M.,Leygraf,N.,Hartmann,U.,etal.(2002).Absenceoforgasm-inducedprolactinsecretioninahealthymulti-orgasmicmalesubject.InternationalJournalofImpotenceResearch,14,133–135.Retrievedfromhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11979330/ Kadioglu,P.,Yalin,A.,Tiryakioglu,O.,Gazioglu,N.,Oral,G.,Sanli,O.,etal.(2005).Sexualdysfunctioninwomenwithhyperprolactinemia:Apilotstudyreport.JournalofUrology,174(5),1921–1925.Retrievedfromhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16217346/ Rowland,D.,&Gutierrez,B.(2017).PhasesoftheSexualResponseCycle.TheSAGEEncyclopediaofAbnormalandClinicalPsychology,1705–1706.SAGEPublications,Inc.Retrievedfromhttps://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1061&context=psych_fac_pub#:~:text=In%201966%2C%20William%20Masters%20and,%2C%20and%20(4)%20resolution Wibowo,E.,&Wassersug,R.J.(2016).MultipleOrgasmsinMen-WhatWeKnowSoFar.SexualMedicineReviews,4(2),136–148.Retrievedfromhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27872023/ Seemore Relatedarticles Retroverted(tilted)uterus:pregnancy,causes,andtreatments Women'shealth Lastupdated:Oct01,2021 3minread Ismypenisnormal?Size,shape,firmness,andcurvature Penis Lastupdated:Nov02,2021 6minread Whatismaleejaculation?Howdoesitoccur? 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