SARAH BOESVELD
Globe and Mail Update
May 13, 2009 at 10:02 AM EDT
Ladies, talk to your lover - you just might be rewarded with a toe-curling orgasm.
In a study of more than 2,000 women, British researchers found that those with higher emotional intelligence climax more often than their peers.
Emotional intelligence, the ability to monitor your own emotions and those of others, is strongly linked to the likelihood a woman will reach orgasm during masturbation and intercourse, reports the study to be published in July's issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine.
Emotionally intelligent women tend to know what they want and how they're going to get it, says lead study author Andrea Burri, a clinical psychologist and sex researcher in the Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology at London's King's College. Women with lower emotional intelligence tend to be more shy and to clam up in bed.
"The ability to express your feelings and to cope with stress is a very important factor that influences your sex life; it makes you more open to sexual stimuli," she says.
Dr. Burri and her colleagues recruited 2,035 female volunteers from the Twins UK registry, which she had been using for research on genetics and sexual ability. The women, at an average age of 50, filled out two questionnaires - the first on how frequently they reach orgasm and the second asking about emotionality, self-control, sociability and well-being.
"The basic thing is really to try to express what you feel to your partner," Dr. Burri says. "Be brave and say yeah, I want it that way and I want this."
And what will the orgasm champs do with the insights her study offers?
"They might start workshops," Dr. Burri laughs.
