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Fixed number of male orgasms: Fact or fiction?

Dear Alice,

Maybe you will answer my question this time finally! Is it a myth or a fact that some people say there's a fixed number of male orgasms or cum-shots one could have in his lifetime? Say three million sperm or 3000 times of orgasming? Once you reach this maximum, you can't have orgasms anymore. Please tell me this is WRONG, and provide me, the ignorant one, with some truth. Thank you very much!

— Desperate for answer

Dear Desperate for answer,

Right away, something is funny about the figures and math of this myth. For one, a healthy human male produces about 30 million sperm each day. With one ejaculation, 300 to 500 million sperm are released. Men continually produce sperm, day in and day out, throughout their lives. Healthy men can make sperm well into their 80s or longer — there is no need to be concerned about running out.

Even if there were no sperm available, you would still be able to ejaculate. Sperm comprise a small percentage of what's in a typical dose of ejaculate, or semen. About 60 percent of semen is seminal fluid, produced by the seminal vesicles. There are many other components of semen, too, which help the sperm in such ways as providing an energy source and protection from the acidic environment of the uterus.

Just as sperm production can never run dry, the number of orgasms that a person has in his lifetime is unlimited. Besides, it's helpful to remember that an orgasm is a full body response. For men, an orgasm entails rhythmic contractions that occur along the penis, urethra, prostate gland, seminal vesicles, pelvic muscles, and anus, and are usually accompanied by ejaculation. Such a multi-dimensional bodily response is unlikely to be affected by the amount of sperm in your semen. Stages of male sexual response provides a more detailed description about the physiological phenomenon of a male orgasm.

No need to cry over spilled sperm, and it's certainly not necessary to keep a running total of your orgasms. Here's to an infinite amount of orgasms!

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Last updated Mar 03, 2015
Originally published Nov 06, 1998

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