Set your stopwatches (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

How long does it really take for a woman to reach orgasm?

A rather specific 13.46 minutes of sexual activity, apparently. Start your timers.

A study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine took a look at how long it took heterosexual women in longterm relationships (they kept it to this group as orgasm rates vary quite a bit between women only having sex with men and those having sex with other women) to reach orgasm.

Over the course of eight weeks, 645 women with an average age of 30 used a stopwatch to measure how long it took to go from the start of sexual activity to having an orgasm.




The times ranged between 12.76 minutes to 14.06 minutes, although 17% of the women studied never experienced an orgasm.

As you might expect, regular old penetrative sex wasn’t the most effective path to a female climax.

Only 31.4% of the women who took part orgasmed due just to penetration. Oral and other forms of stimulation are far more important when it comes to getting off.

So while the average may be 13.46 minutes of sexual activity, you can’t just expect to go in and out for 10 minutes and expect fireworks, and you might speed things up if you focus on clitoral stimulation. If you’re planning a quickie, you might want to get sex toys involved.

Oh, and if someone is moaning and writhing around approximately 30 seconds into penetration, you might want to consider it’s their acting skills that are top-notch, not your sexual prowess.

The research also found that getting on top helps women reach orgasm, as does wearing socks to bed (that’s to do with staying warm and cosy. Chilliness is not next to sexiness).

Lessons to learn here: reaching orgasm takes some work and patience – you shouldn’t expect it to happen instantly.

Take your time, don’t rush, and relax the pressure to climax. Enjoy the journey, not just the destination.

And please do wear socks, get on top, and explore sexual stuff other than penetration. It’s fun, promise.

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