Revealed: The most bizarre responses to female climax – and why you shouldn’t be concerned if your partner starts CRYING

It is often described as the earth-shattering, toe-tightening peak of pleasure.

But according to new research, female orgasm actually comes in a variety of weird and wonderful forms.

Scientists from Northwestern University surveyed more than 3,000 women about their physical and emotional symptoms during the ‘Big O’.

While muscle weakness and foot tingling aren’t too surprising, other reactions may raise some eyebrows.

More than half of the women said they cried during orgasm, and four percent said they hallucinated when they climaxed.

Researchers hope the findings will help reassure women that their reactions during orgasm are normal.

The lead author of the study, Dr. “Although there have been case reports of women laughing, crying, or experiencing unusual physical symptoms during orgasm, this is the first study to characterize what these phenomena are and when they are most likely to occur,” said Lauren Streicher.

‘Women need to know that if they hear uncontrollable laughter every time they orgasm and nothing is funny, they are not alone.’

If you burst into laughter every time you orgasm, you’re not alone, researchers say (file image)

For the study published in the journal Women’s Health Magazineresearchers asked 3,800 women to watch a short video explaining the peri-orgasmic phenomenon; responses are not usually associated with climax.

They were then asked to answer a questionnaire about any unusual physical or emotional symptoms and reactions they experienced during orgasm.

The study found that unusual reactions were rare (only 2.3 percent of the sample experienced) but very large.

The most common physical symptoms were headache, muscle weakness, and foot pain.

Meanwhile, crying, sadness and laughter were the most common emotional symptoms.

Some women said they constantly sneezed after sex, some said they couldn’t stop yawning, and some said their noses bleed.

Four percent even revealed that they hallucinated after reaching sexual climax.

Dr Streicher said: ‘Some people cry when they climax; “Not because sex is bad or painful, but for no reason,” he said.

The data revealed that the physical symptoms women most commonly experienced were headaches, muscle weakness and foot pain.

‘Some people were laughing hysterically when they orgasmed and nothing was funny.’

Of the women who said they experienced unusual symptoms during orgasm, 17 percent said they experienced them consistently.

While the majority of survey respondents said they only experienced them during sexual activity with a partner, nine percent said they occurred after masturbation.

“Peri-orgasmic phenomena encompass a wide range of physical and emotional symptoms,” the researchers explained.

‘Although rarely reported, awareness of these warrants further study to help reassure women that these phenomena are within the range of normal sexual response and to address their sexual health and wellbeing.

‘A better understanding of peri-orgasmic phenomena is of clinical importance as many people who experience these symptoms may feel distressed, which can affect sexual satisfaction and potentially lead to anxiety or avoidance of sexual activities.

‘Clinicians with knowledge of this phenomenon can provide much-needed reassurance to patients experiencing these reactions, helping patients understand that these experiences, although unusual, may not indicate a medical or psychological disorder.’

Previous studies have shown that moaning and groaning are not a way to determine whether a woman has orgasmed.

Experts say the way sexual enhancement is measured needs to be redefined and that “pleasurable satisfaction” is the best way to measure the feeling.

Scientists from the University of Ottawa asked more than 600 women, aged 18 to 82, about their orgasm experiences, both alone and in sexual situations.

These included questions on both the Orgasm Rating Scale (ORS) and the Bodily Orgasmic Sensations Scale (BSOS); both were widely used in sensory-related scientific research fields.

Women were asked to what extent they experienced feelings of shivering, chills, love, goosebumps, sweating, faster breathing and facial tingling, and many more.

The results, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, found that ‘enjoyable satisfaction’ was reported as the most common ORS item across all ages.

The least common ones on the ORS scale are emotional closeness and affection.

Meanwhile, genital sensations and spasms and sweating were the most common items in the BSOS scale.

On the other hand, moaning was one of the least common; researchers even suggested that it should be removed from the scale altogether.