Basic Types of Sexual  Behavior

1. Sexual Self-stimulation: Orgasm During Sleep

Terms

Until fairly recently, religious and medical authorities were used to discussing the entire matter under the heading of "nocturnal pollution" or "nocturnal emission". It was not until around the middle of the 20th century that Kinsey and his associates presented some reliable statistics as to the frequency of this type of sexual outlet. The figures showed that not only males, but also many females, have orgasms in their sleep, although the percentage of females is smaller. As a consequence, Kinsey no longer spoke of "nocturnal emissions", but of "nocturnal sex dreams". This term could be applied to both sexes, but it is still not precise enough.After all, sexual dreams may very well occur during an afternoon nap, in which case they would have to be called "diurnal sex dreams" (i.e., sex dreams during the day). Moreover, dreams with some sexual content are quite common, but most of them are vague and fleeting and thus do not produce any significant physical reactions. It makes little sense to include such dreams here. In our present context it is more practical to count only such sexual dreams that involve a completed sexual response. Therefore, it seems that "orgasm during sleep" is the simplest and most accurate term available.