Sussex mathematicians publish world-first study on male orgasm and evolution

The first-ever "model" of how to achieve orgasm was developed by two mathematicians at the University of Sussex.

Dr Konstantin Blyuss and Dr Yuliya Kyrychko have taken inspiration from the use of mathematics to improve sports performance and have applied similar techniques to the analysis of male arousal. By combining decades of data on physiological and psychological arousal, they have modeled the optimal conditions to achieve orgasm, including tracking the four stages of the "male cycle". According to their research, too much mental stimulation too early in the cycle could affect the chances of achieving climax. As a result, they have created two mathematical equations to represent their findings, one covering the physiological aspects of reaching climax and the other covering the psychological ones.

Their paper, entitled "Sex, ducks, and rock 'n' roll: a mathematical model of sexual response", has been published in a special issue of the journal Chaos, which is one of the flagship journals of the American Institute of Physics. The term "ducks" refers to the mathematical concept of "canards". They hope that their findings could be used to improve the treatment of conditions such as the inability to get and maintain an erection and low sexual energy.

Dr Yuliya Kyrychko, who co-led the research with Dr Blyuss, said that their findings shed light on a socially taboo subject and could have useful applications for the clinical treatment of sexual dysfunction, as well as for providing the general public with a tested formula for improving their sex life. They plan to mathematically model the female sexual response, which is physiologically and mathematically more complex than the male response.

Dr Konstantin Blyuss added that in the past, researchers have tried to write a model to describe the physiological path to climax, but without success. However, by drawing on established data, as well as their own previously published work on modeling biological phenomena such as epidemiology and immunity, they have developed the first successful mathematical model of sexual performance. Their results cover the physiological and psychological aspects required to reach climax and reinforce and mathematically prove existing studies into the psychology of sex.

One key finding is that too much psychological arousal early in the process can inhibit the chance of reaching climax. Therefore, their findings can be summarized as "don't overthink it".