A Research Survey of
Sleep-Related
Female Orgasms and Sex Dreams©
Conducted
by Franceen King, Ph.D.
Preliminary Results – first 100
responses
I’m
posting some partial, preliminary results from the first 100 responses to this
Survey for those of you who have been waiting.
More analysis and commentary will be forthcoming. Already, I think some of the patterns are
very interesting. The most important
point is that these responses are neither uncommon nor unhealthful!
This
topic has not been studied with women over college age since Kinsey in the
1940s and 50s. Because the accumulated
incidence of SRFOs tends to increase with age (at
least until age 65 according to Kinsey’s data), some of the responses from
older women have been especially revealing.
I really need to hear from more women in their 70s and 80s, so if
you are a younger respondent, I would greatly appreciate your willingness to
share the survey with your mothers, grandmothers, or older women friends.
Due to increased
interest, I recently published my dissertation on Sleep-Related Female Orgasms in
book form. It is available at my e-store for $16.00 plus postage, by clicking
on the title, or by ordering directly from Amazon.com.
The Abstract,
Introduction, and Table of Contents can be accessed at: Female Nocturnal Orgasms.
If you have any questions, please contact me at 813-971-8808, or DrFranceen@aol.com.
PARTIAL RESULTS – first 100 responses:
94%
of respondents reported experiencing erotic or overtly sexual dreams.
89%
reported having dreams in which they were having sex with someone else.
36%
reported dreams in which they witnessed others having sex.
93%
reported awaking from sleep feeling sexually aroused at some time.
76%
of respondents reported that they sometimes experience lucid dreams, in which
they are aware that they are dreaming and able to influence the content of the
dream. Interestingly, of those who
experience SRFOs, 73% said they did not think SRFOs were more common with lucid dreams. Of the 24% who have never experienced a lucid
dream, over half have experienced SRFOs.
96%
of respondents report that they are able to experience sexual orgasm when they
are awake:
79% through masturbation
80% through masturbation and fantasy
combined
74% through manual stimulation by a
partner
68% through oral stimulation by a
partner
62% through vaginal penetration by a
partner
40%
of the respondents reported that they are sometimes able to experience orgasm
as a result of waking sexual fantasy alone without any physical stimulation.
78%
reported waking into a physical orgasm at some time in their life. Since this survey is not a representative
sample of the population, one cannot say that 78% of women experience these SRFOs. Kinsey’s
sample of almost 6000 women found that 37% had experienced “sex dreams with
orgasm” by age 45. Later research (Wells
1987) suggested that this figure was probably getting much higher due to the
influence of social and cultural factors.
From the narrative responses it is clear that most respondents were
actively experiencing these and looking for information on-line. Interestingly, I found two very short online
surveys which have appeared since the time of my dissertation. Both simply ask women if they have ever
experienced a sleep-induced orgasm. Both
surveys show a YES response rate of around 80%...consistent with this survey.
Of
the 78% in my survey who have experienced SRFOs (SRFO
experiencers), 68% reported times when these have
been preceded by awareness of an erotic dream; 35% report times when there has
been no preceding dream awareness at all; and 22% report times when the
preceding dream has had no obvious erotic content.
95%
of experiencers had had a SRFO within the previous
five years.
Of
the SRFO experiencers, 24% reported that they
experienced their VERY FIRST orgasm this way, at ages ranging from under 10
(5%) to mid 50s (1%). Kinsey had
reported that 5% of his overall population experienced their first orgasm as
dream-related.
Of
the SRFO experiencers, 4% reported that SRFOs are the ONLY orgasms they have ever experienced at
any age.
When
asked if they were aware, prior to this survey, that women sometimes experience
SRFOs, 74% of respondents said yes, while 26% said
no. Interestingly, this 26% includes 10 experiencers who had never heard of these and thought they
were unique, or that something was wrong with them.
When
asked how they first learned about SRFOs, 91% of the experiencers learned by experiencing one. This is not surprising since this topic is
not covered in sex education classes and is only rarely covered in discussion
or print.
A
total of 16% of respondents had no previous awareness of SRFOs
at all prior to this survey. Only 10% of
respondents, including some experiencers, learned
about SRFOs from a book or magazine. No other methods of learning were even
mentioned.
When
asked about subjective reactions to SRFOs, experiencers were allowed to check all that applied, therefore the following responses do not equal
100%:
4% feel worried about them
4% are confused about them
10% are embarrassed by them
38% are curious about why they occur
1% feels afraid of them
74% enjoy them
12% used to feel worried, confused,
embarrassed or afraid, but no longer are
37% find them amusing or entertaining
49% look forward to them
17% actively try to make themselves
have one
When
asked when they first experienced a SRFO, experiencers
reported as follows:
5% under age
10
12% between ages 11 and 15
13% between ages 16 and 20
38% between ages 21 and 30
21% between ages 31 and 40
6% between
ages 41 and 50
1% between
ages 51 and 60
Obviously
this spread is influenced somewhat by the numbers of respondents in each age
category, as were the responses to Question 17d and 17f.
17d: During which age periods have SRFOs been most common for you? Overall, in response to 17d, older women
reported more frequency in older age ranges; i.e., women in their 60s often
reported peak frequencies in their sixties, with the 50s as second place. Overall, the 20s and 40s are peak age ranges
but more analysis is needed to account for the age of the respondent. (This is one reason I need to hear from more
women in their 70s and 80s.)
17f: During which of the following conditions have
SRFOs been more frequent for you? Respondents could check as many situations as
applied; however, some of these situations; i.e., pregnancy, menopause,
widowhood, etc. are somewhat age-related.
These responses clearly suggest that there are a variety of factors…
physiological, psychological, and social… which influence the occurrence of SRFOs.
27% During
the premenstrual stage of your monthly cycle
2% During
your menstrual flow
10% During
the beginning of your monthly cycle, after your menstrual flow
11% During pregnancy
2% During
nursing after giving birth
9% During recovery from pregnancy
9% During the beginning of menopausal symptoms
10% After menopause
13% At the beginning of a new romantic
relationship
21% During
periods of frequent waking orgasms or sexual arousal
32%
When between, or without, a sexual relationship
1% After death of spouse or sexual partner
14% During periods of anxiety or worry
13% Could not
notice any common situations
Other situations mentioned:
2% When ovulating
2%
At the end of a relationship
2% When feeling aroused before sleep and not
masturbating
Only
six women reported ever having discussed this topic with their physician or
gynecologist (2), psychological counselor or therapist (3), or spiritual
advisor/minister (1).
More
analysis and commentary will be forthcoming.
Please encourage your women friends and family members to participate in
my survey. I am so grateful for your
assistance.
Dr.
Franceen King is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Board Certified
Clinical Sexologist in private practice near
©
2010 Franceen H. King