Telling you to breathe during sex seems like common sense and something that should naturally happen. Everyone breathes during sex even those interested in erotic asphyxiation , but what if I told you that you were breathing wrong during sex? Breathing plays a huge role in the duration of sex as well as the ability to reach orgasm and is something that I have never seen discussed until I started this research task.
So sit back, relax, and take a deep breath before diving into this article. When looking at my experience and breathing patterns during sex, I realized I take a lot of fast and quick breaths.
Despite its unnatural nature, this type of breathing is perceived as sexy and erotic probably due to how often it is demonstrated in pornography, which is where I subconsciously picked up as a performative sexual habit. These are both incredibly common things and either may be holding you back from reaching that golden orgasm.
Sexologist Devi Ward Erickson discusses that a reason for holding your breath, or taking quiet ones can stem from the false idea that self-pleasure is shameful. When this message is taught to a child, they believe that sex or pleasure is something that needs to be hidden. Sex coach and sexologist Megwyn White further explains that a reason why people hold their breath or change their breathing patterns in the build-up to orgasm is due to the overwhelming sensation. Is there something you are holding onto during sex?
It is this resistance that leads to a shift in your breathing pattern. When you are taking big and deep breaths, you are relaxing the autonomic nervous system which governs sexual response and encourages the engorgement of genital erectile tissue. However, holding your breath or taking short ones can do the complete opposite, doing more harm than good. This increase in adrenaline and impact on the autonomic nervous system negatively impact sex or masturbation and can prevent you from reaching orgasm.
