SOLANGE VAZQUEZ
What happens to us during sex is a perfect storm of chain reactions: unleashed hormones, physical changes of all kinds (muscular, heart rate, respiratory, neurological) and also emotional, of course. Did we say 'perfect'? Well almost. Most of the catalog of what happens to us when we get excited is well known. In other words, most of the reactions are standard, the expected ones... but, beware, not always! There are people who, when they get high, suffer strange effects that in no way seem linked to sexual activity, things that surprise them, embarrass them, scare them... At least, until they get used to them and verify that they don't suppose nothing serious.
“These phenomena are usually very transitory and not worrisome, they gradually disappear. What is essential is to have confidence with the couple to deal with them in a healthy way, “says Lurdes Lavado, a sexologist at the Alborabide center. Here are some 'weird' but totally normal things that happen to some people when they are in the vicinity of sexual climax, be it in the prologue, the epilogue or the most interesting part of the chapter.
Ouch!
Sneezing
We have the same type of tissue in our noses as in our genitals. "That is why there are people who, when they get excited, have sneezing attacks, a phenomenon called 'honeymoon rhinitis'", indicates in his book 'Breathe' (Planet) the journalist James Nestor, who writes in media such as ' The New York Times' and is a successful popularizer of scientific issues. This idea is not new: at the end of the 19th century, the German otolaryngologist Wilhelm Fliess, a friend of Freud, developed the theory of 'nasal reflex neurosis', which described a link between the genitals and the nose. He was not paid much attention because other of his theories were authentic nonsense, but he was right about the genitals and the nose, as was proven decades later. It seems that sneezing after intercourse -although some studies refer to subjects who just thinking about it already have 'achush'- is due to parasympathetic hyperactivity triggered in the brain of certain people, where functions that are automatic get messy . Plus, it seems 'sexual' sneezing might have a genetic predisposition.
How? Love, I can't hear you
Clogged Ears
“It doesn't always happen to me, but almost. Right after I have an orgasm my ears get clogged, sometimes just one. Like when you go on the plane. He leaves alone, after a couple of minutes. Although I have never "studied" it or searched the internet (now that I'm talking about it, I'm getting curious), I have the feeling that the more intense the orgasm, the easier it is for my ears to clog so... A good sign when it happens!” says a young woman who prefers to remain anonymous. According to Diego Redolar, professor of Neuropsychology at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya and co-founder of the Cognitive Neuro-Lab laboratory, surely what happens to him is an effect "of the sympathetic activation that occurs during orgasm." Any more otolaryngological explanation? Yes, the sudden drop in heart rate and blood pressure after climax causes pressure changes in the ear and reduced blood flow, causing the auditory nerves to be 'underfed', thus sending faulty signals to the brain. .
Wish from top to bottom
Tingling fingers
Where is the line between the psychological and the physiological when it comes to the side effects of sex? Sometimes it is not easy to discern, although there are neurological explanations for all of them. "When I get excited, I feel a tingling in my fingertips, as if I wanted to touch...", reveals one affected. It's an area full of nerve endings, and we already know that the nervous system is on fire during excitement, like the ringmaster of a three-ring circus, directing a bunch of shows. «To activate sexual behavior there are two inputs of information: the cognitive part (imagination) and the sensory or somatosensory part (that they touch us, for example). And it seems that in humans -in some animals, such as rats, it is the opposite- the cognitive aspect weighs more. However, the somatosensory also has its role, although it differs greatly from one individual to another, which is why some sensations activate sexual desire for some and others, others”, argues Redolar. And the tingling in the fingers? It can be a simple desire to play or a nervous 'mess'.
'Not all tears are bitter
Uncontrollable crying
Cry after orgasm? Yes, it happens. It's called postcoital dysphoria and it's irrepressible and quite embarrassing if you don't trust your partner. "Perhaps you do not understand why so many tears come, it is convenient to make it clear that it is not due to your lack of expertise," advises Sara Martínez, an expert at EroticFeel, a male sexual well-being firm. "The best thing is not to get overwhelmed. First, because it doesn't have to happen to you always. Sometimes it happens only for a time and never happens again. Also, if you know that it is only a release of tension and you discuss it with your partner, it turns out that you begin to assume it naturally and relax. Because, if we get nervous and fear that moment, more will happen to us, ”warns Lurdes Lavado.
That everything moves...
Tremors
After orgasm, some people notice tremors, cramps, and muscle spasms that have nothing to do with the usual climax convulsions. It occurs, above all, in the legs and is more frequent in women. The experts do not attribute it to the sexual effort, they consider that it is rather due to a 'spring' effect. During arousal, the muscles tense and, when the orgasm arrives and suddenly relaxes, these short circuits occur and these involuntary movements occur.
I can't take it anymore, what a laugh...
With a clean laugh
This is the other side of postcoital dysphoria. Some of them start crying their eyes out (this lends itself to all kinds of jokes: if it's joy for having managed to have relationships, if it's because of how bad the experience has turned out...) and others... For laughing as if they had just seen a 'sketch' by Faemino and Cansado! What a cut, right? Mutually. Lurdes Lavado has heard it in his office, yes. «It happened to a girl, who couldn't help it, and her partner stayed 'over there'. It is shocking, it is not something that anyone expects, “he says. According to the sexologist, in some cases the level of arousal is high and the orgasm comes as a true release, "also in the form of laughter."
Beyond reality
Hallucinations
There are people who claim to have had very strange sensations in moments of ecstasy, like going to die or even leaving their body. "The psychological explanation of some cases is that a neurotic exaggeration occurs," says Lavado. We already know that the French call orgasm 'la petite mort' ('the little death'). Does this have any biological basis? Well, hyperventilation associated with sex can be a cause and also the 'disconnection' of some parts of the brain that allow us to reach climax (our head, somehow, has to give 'permission' and deactivate the most rational part for us to climax). sexual response is triggered). «Just as the people who say they have seen UFOs or aliens describe them as historically the cinema has shown them, also the sensations that you have to experience in sex 'must' be normative, that is, according to what we have seen or have been told. what's going on. But curiously, both sexual arousal and the moment of climax can trigger other types of responses in us, some more common than we think, but which are not the usual ones, "says Sara Martínez. Each person is different and a quick survey among your friends can prove it to you.
When sex makes you 'sick'
Extreme tiredness
"Muscle weakness can occur right after orgasm, especially in men," says Sara Martínez. Apparently, in some men, intercourse leaves such a relaxation that the typical muscle distension after sex turns into an unpleasant heaviness. And no, it's not because he's a sexual athlete who has given it his all. It is known as orgasmolepsy
Not your typical excuse...
Headache
The traditional excuse attributed to women for not having sex, that 'my head hurts', is more typical of men... but after having consummated, according to Martinez. It is also more common in people with migraines. Changes in blood pressure, breathing, neurological factors, and the release of adrenaline due to sexual pleasure may be the causes. The pain comes on suddenly and usually lasts a few minutes, although it can last for hours.
The 'game' of interactions between the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems
Sex is in the brain. How many times have we heard this statement (and how many have we thought that it is a set phrase). But it has scientific foundation. The neuropsychologist Diego Redolar explains that during sex there is an interaction between the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, whose functions alternate, like a set of switches: one turns on, another turns off: «At the beginning of the sexual response, the parasympathetic takes control; when you reach orgasm, it is the nice guy who dominates the situation ». This 'machinery' is not a Swiss watch and some people suffer physiological effects when these systems are hyperactivated, which not only control sexual response and orgasm, but many others. Hence, sometimes unexpected situations occur. "The autonomous system activates many things," he stresses.
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