Types of Male Orgasms, Health Benefits, and More
When it comes to hot, steamy sex, most want that unforgettable big O they’ll daydream about for weeks afterward. It’s often assumed there’s only one way for men to have a good orgasm, but that’s actually not the case.
In fact, there’s so much more to male orgasms than you may think. Multiple types of male orgasms can be achieved using various techniques — with notably different results.
Yep. Bet you didn’t know you could be doing more to switch up your climaxes.
Before we dive into the world of how men orgasm, it’s important to note there’s surprisingly not much scientific research about the different types of men’s orgasms. And this isn’t an exhaustive list of every orgasm you can have, so don’t limit yourself.
Steps to Male Orgasms
You’re likely already aware of the build-up before you bust, but more steps are involved than you might think. A few things have to happen before the climax you’ve been waiting for.
A typical orgasm has three phases: emission, expulsion and orgasm.
Emission
Semen from the seminal vesicles, prostate and vas deferens (the sperm duct in each testicle) enters the posterior urethra. Your urethral sphincter then tightens to close your bladder’s neck, so your cum doesn’t flow back into your bladder, which can lead to an issue you don’t want to deal with.
During emission, your ejaculation is purely voluntary muscle control.
The sympathetic nervous system (which connects internal organs to the brain) also controls your rectum, seminal vesicles and spine in this first phase to prepare for expulsion.
Expulsion
Your seminal fluid travels from the posterior urethra to the anterior urethra. Once you get to the expulsion phase, there’s no point of return. You’re in for the ride and are soon to have your orgasm.
You’ll experience muscle contractions on your pelvic floor, which increase pressure in your urethra, leading to the release of semen.
Orgasm
You finally get that big O you’ve been waiting for in the final phase. While the orgasm is pleasurable, it is pretty short.
Your orgasm is a neurological process caused by physical sensations and contractions in your accessory organs, such as your penis, seminal vesicles, prostate, vas deferens and Cowper’s glands.
Ejaculation vs. Orgasm
You may think ejaculation and orgasm are the same, but they’re distinctly different.
An orgasm is the peak of intense pleasure that alters your consciousness and may cause physical changes. Orgasms can also cause hyperventilation, increased heart rate and high blood pressure.
In addition, orgasms can cause more powerful and pleasurable muscle contractions on your pelvic floor.
Ejaculation is more of a physiological experience than an orgasm. The autonomic nervous system controls your ejaculations and, as mentioned before, comprises three phases of pleasure.
Several neurotransmitters and hormones are triggered before or after ejaculation, such as:
Dopamine
Estrogen
Androgen
Oxytocin
Prolactin
Glucocorticoids
Keep reading to learn about the different types of male orgasms.
Types of Male Orgasms
Here are some of the most common male orgasms. Even if you’ve experienced a few, there’s probably more out there than you think.
Ejaculatory Orgasm
This is considered the typical male orgasm. With an ejaculatory orgasm, your pelvic or penile muscles contract to release semen, giving you that pleasurable experience you crave.
Pelvic Orgasm
This type of orgasm is achieved by edging, which can be a solo act or involve a partner.
You’ll stimulate yourself until you reach the edge of a climax, but you won’t cross the finish line yet. You’ll get as close to an orgasm as possible before stopping, letting yourself calm down, then repeating the process.
This sexual stimulation technique can make pelvic orgasms more intense and pleasurable.
Retrograde Orgasm
These are the not-so-fun orgasms that may require medical attention.
During a retrograde orgasm, as you near climax, semen enters the bladder instead of releasing through the penis. You’ll still climax, but little to no semen will come out.
Retrograde orgasms are also known as dry orgasms and aren’t a serious issue. However, they may cause male infertility in rare cases.
If you want to become a parent in the future, discuss treatment options with a healthcare professional.
Prostate Orgasm
Prostate orgasms involve hitting the P-spot (the prostate gland) located right under your bladder in your anus. (This is considered the male version of the G-spot.) Much of your semen from ejaculation is produced in the prostate.
You or a partner can massage your prostate from the inside or outside of your anus with a penis, a hand or toys designed for prostate massages.
What makes prostate orgasms unique is that there’s no need to stimulate the penis to climax. Crazy, right?
Blended Orgasm
Men orgasm in numerous ways. As the name suggests, a blended orgasm is a combination of different orgasms occurring at the same time.
You may achieve this type of orgasm with a mix of penile and prostate play, leading to a full-body orgasm stimulated by the nerves connected to your pelvic floor muscles and spinal cord.
Though you have to get the timing right for a blended orgasm to work, trial and error is worth it for mind-blowing pleasure.
Energy Orgasm
This is another full-body male orgasm, but you’ll need to tap into your spiritual side for it to work. Also known as a cosmic or spiritual orgasm, an energy orgasm is a tantric method requiring the mastery of sexual energy to have an orgasm without physical stimulation.
To have an energy orgasm, you’ll need some training, practice and patience. For some, it comes easy. But for others, it’ll take time to get there.
There’s little scientific evidence to determine how effective or ineffective energy orgasms are, so make of that what you will.
Multi-Ejaculatory Orgasm
Multiple orgasms aren’t just for the ladies.
Multi-ejaculatory orgasms involve climaxing multiple times within a short period. There are two types men can experience: sporadic and condensed.
Sporadic multiorgasms occur within minutes of each other. Condensed multiorgasms, on the other hand, are bursts of two to four orgasms that happen within seconds of each other or up to two minutes apart.
Men have refractory periods — the waiting time after climax before they can achieve another erection. Refractory periods can range among men, as your health and lifestyle habits affect how quickly you can get it up again.
With this in mind, it can seem like a challenge to have multiple orgasms in one session, but it is possible.
Health Benefits of Orgasms
Sex can be great, especially when there are so many ejaculation benefits. An orgasm is a phenomenal health-boosting event, according to many studies.
Some orgasm benefits include:
Reduced pain
Hormonal balance
Cardiovascular health support
Another major benefit of male orgasms is that they may lower the risk of prostate cancer. In a study involving nearly 32,000 men over an 18-year period, those who frequently ejaculated had a lower risk of developing prostate cancer.
Unfortunately, many people — most commonly (but not always) women — don’t enjoy these health benefits of sex as often as they might want or deserve.
Male vs. Female Orgasm
Of course, both men and women can experience toe-curling orgasms — but they’re not the same.
Males and females have pulsating contractions while orgasming, but that’s where the similarities end.
Women are thought to have longer-lasting, more intense orgasms, and they may stay sexually aroused longer. On the other hand, men can achieve more consistent orgasms during intercourse than women but can’t resume sexual arousal as quickly due to refractory periods.
Also, when men ejaculate, they release sperm, while many women don’t release any fluid after orgasm. Some women squirt as a form of ejaculation, but the liquid expelled is urine rather than semen.
Male Orgasm Problems
Despite all the pleasurable benefits of ejaculation and orgasms, some men have trouble coming. We’ll go over the potential reasons below.
Erectile Dysfunction
One of the most common male orgasm issues is erectile dysfunction, or simply ED. ED can involve trouble keeping or getting an erection or a lowered sexual desire.
Risk factors for erectile dysfunction include:
Heart conditions
Diabetes
Multiple sclerosis
Being overweight or obese
Certain medications
Damage to arteries and nerves that control erections
Mental health conditions such as anxiety, stress or depression
Drug and alcohol consumption
Some men face other sexual dysfunction issues, which we’ll cover below.
Premature Ejaculation
You might be familiar with premature ejaculation, a common ejaculation problem that occurs when you ejaculate too fast.
The potential causes of premature ejaculation are:
Prostate issues
Thyroid problems
Mental health conditions, such as depression, stress or anxiety
Relationship problems
Sexual trauma
Strict upbringing or negative beliefs surrounding sex
Conditioning
Instead of happening too soon, ejaculation can happen too late. Find out more below.
Delayed Ejaculation
Delayed ejaculation — or anorgasmia — occurs when it takes too long or too much effort to achieve an orgasm.
Possible causes of delayed ejaculation include:
Diabetes
Multiple sclerosis
Spinal cord injuries
Prostate gland or bladder surgeries
Older age
Keep in mind potential causes vary by person. Your healthcare provider can help you figure out what might be behind your sexual performance issues.
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Retrograde Ejaculation
This is the rarest ejaculation disorder. With retrograde ejaculation, semen reverts into the bladder rather than exiting the urethra. You may have weak ejaculation, no semen at all or urine that looks cloudy.
Retrograde ejaculation can arise from:
Prostate gland surgery
Bladder surgery
Diabetes
Multiple sclerosis
High blood pressure medications
Again, it’s best to talk to a healthcare provider if you have any of these medical conditions and are experiencing sexual dysfunction.
Anejaculation
Also known as retrograde ejaculation or dry orgasm, anejaculation is another ejaculation disorder where you’re unable to ejaculate although you’re hard.
Anejaculation can arise from physical and behavioral health issues like:
Spinal cord injury
Diabetes
Multiple sclerosis
Performance anxiety
Inadequate sexual arousal
Connect with a healthcare professional who specializes in urology to figure out what might be going on.
Priapism
Priapism occurs when the penis maintains a prolonged erection (for four or more hours) without any stimuli. Depending on the severity of priapism, this condition may require immediate medical attention to prevent permanent damage to the penis.
Some potential causes of priapism are:
Genital trauma
Penis implants
Penile fractures
Foreign objects in the penis or urethra
Urethral rupture
Cocaine use
If you’re experiencing any of these issues, not all hope is lost. We’ll go over ways to improve your orgasms below.
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How to Have Better Orgasms
Now that the ins and outs of male orgasms are covered — including what a male orgasm feels like — you might wonder how to lead a healthy sex life with better orgasms.
We’ve got you covered. Here are some tips for how to have the best male orgasm and prioritize your sexual health.
Be in the moment. Clear your mind of your argument with a coworker, the student loans you’ve been avoiding paying and group chat notifications by being present with yourself and your partner(s). You can do this by setting the mood with light music, candles or a brief meditation.
Be patient. Don’t rush into an orgasm, as you might keep it from happening. Instead, relax during sex by enjoying other sexually arousing activities during refractory periods.
Do Kegel exercises. You can do exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor, which may enhance your orgasms. One way to practice Kegels is to tighten your muscles when urinating to stop the flow, holding for at least three seconds and repeating 10 times.
Hold off as long as possible. The longer you hold your climax, the more powerful the orgasm may be. Repeat edging a few times before climaxing.
Do breathing exercises. Treat sexual activity or masturbation as if you were meditating. Focus on your breathing to boost your sexual energy while increasing your arousal.
Find out what turns you on. This might seem like an odd question, but do you know what excites you in the bedroom? Is it sexy lingerie, a dark room or a make-out session? Knowing what gets your blood flowing can make it much easier to achieve an orgasm.
Communicate with your partner. When it comes to issues in the bedroom, it’s always important to communicate your concerns with your partner(s). So, don’t be afraid to share your sexual desires and concerns with your partner(s) — and allow them to do the same to ensure everyone involved has the best possible sexual experience.
Treatment for Ejaculation Disorders
If you have sexual stamina issues or can’t figure out how to climax, it doesn’t mean you can’t have a healthy sex life. Speak to your healthcare provider about treatment options that can help you have more enjoyable sex.
For example, a healthcare provider may prescribe erectile dysfunction or premature ejaculation treatments to help improve your sexual performance, such as:
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Online therapy
In some cases, multiple types of treatment (like medication and therapy) might offer the best results.
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Male Orgasms: Final Thoughts
There’s more to the male orgasm and male pleasure than you probably know. Sex doesn’t have to be “one and done,” as there’s much more you can try to improve your sexual experiences.
Here’s what to keep in mind:
Male orgasms happen in phases. The three phases of a typical orgasm are emission, expulsion and orgasm.
There are different types of male orgasms. You may be missing out if you haven’t explored different ways to orgasm. And don’t be afraid of a little prostate play here and there.
Male orgasm problems could be affecting your performance. From ED to anorgasmia, ejaculation disorders can create hurdles to the climax you’re looking for.
Seek treatment for ejaculation disorders. If you’re having trouble with orgasms, erectile dysfunction treatments and therapies are available to help you spice up your sex life.
Want to get started today? Explore erectile dysfunction treatments available from Hims, and consider online therapy to address any psychological causes.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The information contained herein is not a substitute for and should never be relied upon for professional medical advice. Always talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of any treatment or medication.