I'm delighted with my 45-minute erections – but why are my orgasms such a letdown?
Certain medications – whether prescription or over-the-counter – can change the nature of one's orgasm, so consider whether the culprit could be in your medicine cabinet. If this is a possibility, you should consult with the prescribing physician to find out if there might be an alternative. Another element to investigate is whether your hormones might have something to do with it. For example, you might ask a doctor to look at your testosterone levels. Strong orgasms are fuelled partly by sex hormones such as testosterone, and an insufficiency could lead to the symptoms you are experiencing. Finally, I can tell that you are proud of your sexual prowess, but it might be a good idea to relax a bit on the expectations you set for yourself. A person usually has a better orgasm when they are able to let go of performance pressure. Try to focus simply on pleasure.
Pamela Stephenson Connolly is a US-based psychotherapist who specialises in treating sexual disorders.
If you would like advice from Pamela on sexual matters, send us a brief description of your concerns to private.lives@theguardian.com (please don't send attachments). Each week, Pamela chooses one problem to answer, which will be published online. She regrets that she cannot enter into personal correspondence. Submissions are subject to our terms and conditions.
Comments on this piece are premoderated to ensure discussion remains on topics raised by the writer. Please be aware there may be a short delay in comments appearing on the site.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
10 minutes ago
- The Independent
Researchers find milk type that increases risk of heart disease and death
A 33-year study conducted in Norway has investigated the long-term health impacts of consuming full-fat versus low-fat milk. Researchers analysed health data from 73,860 individuals, finding that the fat content of milk influenced the risk of death from heart disease. The study revealed that individuals who consumed full-fat milk had a higher mortality risk compared to those who drank low-fat milk. Specifically, consuming low-fat milk was linked to an 11 per cent lower overall mortality risk and a 7 per cent reduced risk of cardiovascular disease compared to whole milk. These findings support current NHS health advice, which cautions against high intake of saturated fat found in full-fat dairy due to its link to increased cholesterol and heart disease risk.
BBC News
10 minutes ago
- BBC News
Daily weight loss pill helps patients lose 12% of body weight
Trials of a daily obesity pill have shown it can help patients lose around 12% of their body weight over 72 weeks. The manufacturer, Eli Lilly, says the drug, which is not yet licensed, could be available next daily pill, called orforglipron, works by suppressing appetite and making you feel more results of a major trial show those on the highest dose lost an average of 12 kilos (nearly two stone) over 16 months but about one in 10 stopped taking the pills due to side effects, including nausea and vomiting. In addition to weight loss, participants also benefited from reductions in cholesterol, blood fats and blood Kenneth Custer of Eli Lilly said the company was planning to submit the drug for licensing before the end of the year and preparing for a "global launch to address this urgent pubic health need".So where might this weight loss pill fit in to the blockbuster multi-billion pound market dominated by injectable drugs like Mounjaro, Wegovy and Ozempic?The pill is much less effective than 12% weight loss achieved by those taking orforglipron compares to 22% weight loss for patients on Mounjaro, given by weekly injection. Both drugs are made by Eli Lilly. Despite being less effective, there is likely to be a significant market for weight loss pills, as a needle-free means of cutting obesity experts hope the oral drug will be far cheaper than current injectables which would make it available to many more patients. The full results of the trial will be presented next month at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes annual meeting and published in a peer-reviewed manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, also has an oral version of its injectable drug Wegovy which it has already submitted for approval in the trials, patients on the highest dose of the Novo Nordisk daily pill lost around 15% of their bodyweight after 64 weeks.
The Guardian
13 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Was everything brighter 40 years ago? How color perception changes as we age
Every now and then, a bit of nostalgia bait drifts across my social media feed, with people pining for the brighter colors of the past – the vivid hues of the Toys R Us logo, or a 90s McDonald's play zone. On Reddit, posters observe: 'As I get older it feels like life is losing its color,' and ask: 'Were colors brighter and more vibrant when I was younger?' Indeed, according to research from the UK's Science Museum Group, there's been a stark increase in gray everyday objects since the mid-20th century. But this dullification may go beyond the modern preponderance of ashen cars, sad beige nurseries and millennial gray apartments. Scientists believe that color perception itself can fade, altering how the world appears. Depending on how your eyes – and brain – age, the bright red balloon you remember from your seventh birthday party might not look as vivid if you came across it again at 93. Changes in color perception can occur for several reasons. One common factor is structural shifts in the eye. For instance, a cataract – a condition that clouds the eye's lens – can gradually tint vision with a yellow-brown 'brunescent' hue. In the US, about 4m cataract surgeries are performed annually. A brunescent lens 'can pull the blue and green out' of the world around us, says Dr Andrew Iwach of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. After a cataract is removed, the difference in color clarity afterward can be so striking that Iwach wears a bright blue tie to delight his recovering patients. Changes in color perception can also be caused by glaucoma or macular degeneration. Iwach recommends routine eye exams, and says if you notice this type of change, see an ophthalmologist. Research from 2024 found that up to 15% of global dementia cases could be linked to problems with color perception issues, meaning that an eye exam can be an important step in screening and mitigating the disease. Some medications can also affect color perception, says Iwach – namely Viagra (pilots are required to abstain from the drug eight hours before flying lest it affect their perception of blue hues) and some types of heart and tuberculosis medications. Yet research suggests that even in the absence of eye disease or medication use, color perception can shift over the course of our lives. Dr Janneke van Leeuwen, a social neuroscientist and honorary research fellow at University College London's Queen Square Institute of Neurology, noticed a subtle trend in behavioral studies from the last three decades: older adults consistently rated colors duller than younger participants did. Van Leeuwen set out to investigate: do we truly see the world differently as we age? And if so, is it the eyes or the brain driving that change? Her 2023 study involved 17 young adults and 20 older adults in 'an eye tracking experiment' featuring 26 colors, which varied in lightness (how light or dark a color appears) and saturation (how pure and intense a color appears). Using a camera that recorded pupil diameter 1,000 times per second, Van Leeuwen's team observed how participants' pupils reacted to each color. They found a reduction in the way older people's pupils responded to more highly saturated colors, even when correcting for the shrunken baseline pupil sizes that come with age. Thus, it seems some older adults may genuinely perceive the world as less colorful. Van Leeuwen recalls one participant saying: 'Oh, it's a shame there's not a real punchy red.' 'I was thinking: 'Well, you're looking at one!'' she says. The issue, Van Leeuwen explains, 'doesn't necessarily originate in the eyes, but in the brain'. Pupil responses are controlled by the Edinger-Westphal nucleus, a midbrain structure that receives input from the retina and the visual cortex. This means that pupillary reactions reflect both what the eyes detect and how the brain processes that information. Sign up to Well Actually Practical advice, expert insights and answers to your questions about how to live a good life after newsletter promotion The brain becomes less sensitive to how saturated and vivid colors are not because the eyes fail to register them, says Van Leeuwen, but because the visual cortex may no longer interpret them with the same intensity. 'Older adults seem to be particularly less sensitive to the intensity of colors on the magenta-green pathway,' she adds, referring to the anatomical structures in the eye that help process colors. More research is needed to understand why, but the cause probably lies in how the cones in our eyes interact with color-processing pathways in the brain. Currently, Van Leeuwen is following up her study with an investigation into how differences in saturation perception influence the way colors make younger and older adults feel. The 2023 study's findings align with a phenomenon called the Helmholtz-Kohlrausch effect: the brain's tendency to perceive highly saturated colors as brighter than less saturated ones, even if their actual lightness is the same. Believed to be an evolutionary trait for important evaluations such as the ripeness of fruit, this effect also takes place in the primary visual cortex. This 'further supports our findings that the decline in sensitivity in color saturation in healthy ageing originates in the brain, and not the eyes', says Van Leeuwen. There is no sign this loss of saturation perception follows the same process as the onset of certain types of dementia, Van Leeuwen emphasizes – many older adults experience vision declines without developing dementia, which has multiple risk factors. However, the study does provide insight into how our brains change as a result of normal, healthy ageing, which is useful context in the study of neurological disease. Is there anything you can do to stop age-related declines in saturation perception? Researchers don't currently believe that lifestyle habits can meaningfully influence this process. But there's some evidence that the brain can be 'trained' to see the world differently. Anya Hurlbert, a color and vision scientist at Newcastle University, points to a 2020 study involving EnChroma glasses, which feature a saturation-boosting tint to help reduce the effects of some types of color blindness. Participants with red-green color perception deficiencies who wore the glasses reported seeing increased color saturation even after removing them. Alternatively, simply surrounding oneself with more intense colors could help. As Van Leeuwen notes, 'Older adults tend to evaluate more saturated colors more positively than younger adults … which seems to suggest they might need the extra stimulation.' Just another reason to see the new Wes Anderson movie.
