Expert Explains What Causes ‘Sleepgasms’ As Woman Says They Even Wake Her Up

For many people, reaching orgasm can take effort, focus, and the right mood — but for some, it can actually happen while they’re fast asleep.

This phenomenon is linked to the so-called orgasm gap, and unfortunately, women often find themselves on the losing side of that statistic.

According to Psychology Today, in heterosexual encounters, only between 50 and 70 percent of women report climaxing, compared to around 95 percent of men. It’s a frustrating imbalance that has been discussed for years.

One woman says she experiences orgasms during her sleep, a phenomenon known in medical terms as a nocturnal orgasm — or more casually, a ‘sleepgasm’.

Speaking on the Just Between Us podcast, Diana Vickers, known for her time on the UK’s version of The X Factor, shared that these moments can be so intense they actually wake her up.

“Sometimes I’m asleep and then I’ll wake up having an orgasm — it’ll wake me up,” she revealed, adding: “I don’t know whether the dream is very sexy, or what’s going on, but I’ll open my eyes and have to attend to the fact it’s happening. It happened to me this morning.”

Singer-turned-podcaster Diana Vickers says she orgasms in her sleepDave Benett/Getty Images
To shed light on what’s really going on, women’s health expert Dr. Hana Patel explained exactly what sleepgasms are and why they happen.

“They’re a healthy part of sexual function, often linked to erotic dreams or subconscious arousal,” she told Metro Online.

Dr. Patel explained that these nighttime orgasms are most likely to happen during REM sleep, the stage where your eyes move rapidly, your brain activity peaks, and vivid — sometimes sensual — dreams are most likely to occur.

“This is when the brain regions tied to emotion, memory, and arousal are activated,” shared Dr. Patel.

Going into more detail about the process, she added: “Your brain being highly active is to process emotions, memories, and vivid dreams.”

Some people have reportedly have nocturnal orgasmsGetty Stock Image
“The body reacts on its own during sleep: this could mean more blood flows to the genitals, the muscles in the pelvic area might tighten, and without the brain holding anything back, an orgasm can happen automatically.”

“Despite this, your body will remain mostly paralysed to prevent you acting out dreams.”

While you might assume that a racy dream is necessary to trigger such an event, that’s not always the case. In fact, some sleepgasms can occur completely out of the blue.

“People often report waking up mid-orgasm with no memory of a sexual dream,” said Dr. Patel.

“This means sleepgasms can occur quite spontaneously, likely triggered by things like body positioning or even hormonal shifts.”