Getting
“Over the Edge”
One of the most studied topics in human sexuality — and still one of the least honestly discussed. This research examines the specific strategies that help people reach orgasm during partnered sex, across genders and relationship types.
The orgasm gap
is real — and researchable.
Despite being one of the most sought-after aspects of sexual experience, orgasm in partnered sex remains surprisingly under-researched — particularly from a pleasure-positive, strategy-focused perspective. Most existing research focuses on dysfunction, frequency, or the presence or absence of orgasm. Very little has asked: what actually helps people get there?
This study takes a different approach. Rather than cataloguing what goes wrong, it examines the specific strategies — physical, psychological, relational, and communicative — that people report as facilitating orgasm during sex with a partner.
The findings have implications for sex education, clinical practice, and the broader public conversation about sexual pleasure. Understanding what works — and for whom, and under what conditions — is the first step toward making that knowledge available to everyone.
Because shame, silence, and lack of information are the most reliable ways to ensure that people never get the help they need.
A general sense of
the research.
While specific findings are embargoed pending REB approval and publication, we can share a general overview of the areas this study examined.
Physical strategies
What types of touch, position, stimulation, and physical conditions participants identified as most facilitative of orgasm during partnered sex.
Psychological factors
The role of mental state, arousal, focus, fantasy, and freedom from distraction or performance pressure in reaching orgasm with a partner.
Communication & partnership
How couples communicate about orgasm — or don’t — and the role of partner attentiveness, responsiveness, and mutual understanding.
Gender differences
How strategies and facilitating factors differ across genders — with particular attention to the well-documented orgasm gap between men and women.
Age & relationship length
Whether facilitating strategies shift across the lifespan and with relationship duration — and what that suggests for couples at different stages.
Barriers & inhibitors
What gets in the way — including shame, performance pressure, communication gaps, and the role of cultural messaging about orgasm.
Where we are
right now.
✓ Study design & instrument development
Research questions, survey design, and measurement instruments developed and refined.
✓ Data collection
Data collection is complete. Participants have been recruited and surveys administered.
✓ Data analysis
Analysis of findings is complete. Results are ready for write-up and dissemination.
→ REB approval in progress
The study is currently undergoing Research Ethics Board (REB) review. Findings are embargoed until approval is granted.
Upcoming — submission for publication
Following REB approval, findings will be written up and submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.
Upcoming — open access publication
Findings will be shared freely on the NHRI website and published in an open-access format where possible.
Be the first to know
when findings are released.
Sign up to be notified when the findings from this study are published. We’ll send you a single email with a link to the results — no spam, no ongoing newsletter unless you want one.
Your email will only be used to notify you of this study’s publication. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Dr. Petra Zebroff
Petra Zebroff has spent over three decades studying what helps people build more connected, pleasurable intimate lives. This study reflects her ongoing commitment to pleasure-positive, evidence-based research that takes orgasm seriously as a health and wellbeing outcome — not just an afterthought.