Sex is a pretty interesting activity, and not just for the people doing it.

In fact, sex has been something that scientists have studied for years, trying to really break it down to basics and figure out all the details.

To be honest, most everyday people aren’t interested in the details. However, there is one detail that our readers, particularly the ladies, may be interested in.

Science knows why you can’t orgasm.

Yes, after years of studying sex in all its squishy wonderfulness, scientists have figured out just why it’s so difficult for some people to orgasm. The study, that was undertaken in partnership with the Mayo Clinic and the Indiana University School of Medicine, was recently published in the journal of Clinical Anatomy.

The study looked at a number of different studies to try and clarify the link between sexual anatomy (i.e. men vs women genitals) and the ability to orgasm. Some of the research done included magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of people having sex, which likely would have been very interesting even for a layman, to assist scientists in figuring out what sexual positions were most likely to get you where you wanted to go.

The Results

What the study found was actually pretty interesting, and not as much in the mind as you might have assumed. It turns out that for men, reaching a climax is controlled by something called a ‘feedback loop’ in their nervous system. However, for women, it’s most about the position they’re in while having sex. Let’s dig a little deeper.

For men, the performance of their genitals ultimately came down to something scientists call a ‘reflex loop’. Just like it is with any sense (like taste or touch), the physical stimuli that the penis experiences get processed both in the brain and in the spinal cord. So when the penis is having sex, it’s getting information based on physical stimuli as well as psychological that is telling it what to do next. This comes in the form of a feedback loop, which runs continuously. The physical stimuli is the feeling, the psychological is the mind stuff, basically, the object of their attraction i.e. you.

Now this means that while physical issues can be at the root of orgasm problems in men, its issues in the nervous system that are more likely to be to blame. In cases of long-term orgasm issues, there may be an imbalance in either the parasympathetic nervous system, which controls the body during rest, or the sympathetic nervous system, which controls the body during active periods. Both of these can be treated with medical intervention, so it’s worth looking into for those with long-term issues.

Now, as for women, there isn’t so much science at all. As it turns out, achieving orgasm is more a matter of sexual positioning. Researchers noted that orgasms are more likely to occur when the clitoris is closer to the vaginal wall during sex. As it happens, the clitoris actually moves towards this wall while we’re having sex (so say the MRI). Different positions can encourage this more, but there are some positions that stand out.

These positions are essentially ones that stimulate the front wall of the vagina, pretty much like missionary or cowgirl. There are ways to make them feel better, such as getting the penis penetration right. According to the study, orgasm is most likely if the penis penetrates between 30 and 45 degrees, but don’t ask us how you’re supposed to measure it.

At the end of the day, the authors of the study concluded with something that most of us, particularly those that don’t always achieve orgasm, already know, that “orgasms are a complex phenomena involving psychological, physiological, and anatomic variation”.

Or basically, not everyone gets to the top of the mountain taking the same path.