Yes, it’s true, there are lots of good reasons to have sex while on your period, including pain relief, stress relief and feeling good when you otherwise might be struggling with mood or body related discomfort. If you’d like to explore how to get more comfortable with period sex, keep on reading. However, if you don’t want to have sex during your period that’s also perfectly ok!
Some of the many benefits of period sex include pain relief, stress relief, and feeling good. Sex and orgasm release neurotransmitters such as oxytocin – “the love hormone” – that makes you feel good and feel connected to your partner, and endorphins – “feel good chemicals” which are like naturally occurring pain killers in the body and can help with menstrual cramping. Sex can make you feel better both physically, in terms of pain management but also emotionally, when you might be struggling with lethargy, or low mood. For some people, sex drive can be higher during this time in your menstrual cycle.
If you haven’t had sex while on your period, but you’d like to give it a try and aren’t sure where to start, here are some ideas to help you ease into it.
1. Talk to you partner beforehand. Let them know that they might see some blood residue (red towards the beginning of your period, or brown towards the end) on their body or on the toy you might use for penetration. This is normal, and nothing to be concerned about.
2. Have a wet washcloth or towel (preferably dark coloured) on hand so that you can easily wipe yourself or your partner off if you see blood and are uncomfortable with it. Or you can try having sex in the shower.
3. Try having sex closer to the end of your period when your flow is lighter.
4. Try having sex immediately after removing a tampon – or try wearing a tampon for a few hours before sex if you usually wear a pad, but make sure you remove it before engaging in any penetration. Note, this might increase dryness, so make sure you have a good lubricant on hand.
5. Have partner’s with penises wear a tampon – to reduce STI and pregnancy risk and also increase comfort if they are concerned about their penis coming in contact with blood.
6. If you are shy about dealing with blood flow, try having non-penetrative sex first, (external stimulation only) to begin to start seeing some of the benefits to period pleasure/orgasms and start increasing your confidence. You can even keep a tampon in for non-penetrative activities.
If period sex is totally unappealing to you – you feel bloated or gross, or it’s just the last thing on your mind – then don’t sweat it! Having your period is as good a reason as any to take some time off from sex. Don’t forget though that if it’s a clear expectation that sex is off limits during your period, that that’s a great, low-pressure time to enjoy things like cuddling, and not be expected to progress to anything more sexual in nature.
Disclaimer: The content offered in this blog is the content of Dr. Lauren Walker. Answers to questions are not exhaustive and are offered as potential ideas to begin to address sexual questions and concerns. The answers are not meant to replace medical advice or psychotherapy, and are included for educational and entertainment purposes.
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