How to Make Sex Last Longer—Without Stressing Yourself Out
Sex doesn’t always have to be a slow, tantric-inspired session, but two minutes isn’t exactly enough time for most women to get to the good stuff. So how can you make sex last longer?
Sex has a lot more to offer than just an orgasm (not that orgasms should be discounted…): connecting with your partner, exploring his or her body, enjoying your own body. Why rush it? We asked the experts how to make sex last longer when you’re craving more connection, more intimacy, and of course, more orgasms.
1. First things first: Don’t get too preoccupied with pulling an all-nighter.
“Women are supposed to want hour-long sex,” says relationship and sexuality educator Logan Levkoff. That’s great if that’s what you want—but if you don’t, that’s okay too, she says. Personally, every time I see a rom-com with a classic post-coital comment like, “Wow didn’t get any sleep last night,” my first thought is: How? Why? What about chafing? Making sex last longer doesn’t need to mean turning it into a marathon. “What someone wants—whether it’s shorter or longer—is very individualized and also very contextual based on the relationship and partnership,” Levkoff says. Having a conversation before going into sex about what each person wants to get out of it—including duration!—is step one, she says. Plus, once you take the pressure off to win gold in the all-night sex Olympics, it may naturally go longer—probably because you’re less preoccupied with goalposts and more focused on enjoying your experience.
2. Remember, sex isn’t all about penetration
“Sex shouldn’t simply be about something being in someone else’s body for a particular period of time,” says Levkoff. Translation: Penetration doesn’t have to be the final destination. In fact, Jenni Skyler, a sex therapist at the Intimacy Institute in Boulder, Colorado, refers to sexual encounters as the Cheesecake of Pleasure when her patients need help mixing up their routine. Perhaps you start with a bite of graham cracker crust, next the cheese filling, a bit more graham cracker, some blueberry compote, cheese again—you get the idea. (See also Friends episode “The One with Phoebe’s Uterus.” Seven, seven, SEVEN!) In other words, sample the sexual menu.
3. Foreplay can be the main event
“Women’s sexual response cycle varies from the average men’s sexual response cycle in that their arousal patterns tend to rise, fall, and plateau before a climax,” says Sari Cooper, a certified sex therapist and founder and director of the Center for Love and Sex in New York City. Take advantage of those fluctuations: “Two women can take full advantage by playing with their partner’s arousal levels through stimulating their more erogenous areas that heighten and increase arousal to a 7 or 8 (out of 10) then focusing on stimulating less erogenous areas to bring the arousal down to a 4 or 5.” Think of this kind of foreplay as its own thing, not just the opening act. This kind of play is more realistic for going all night long, Cooper says.
4. Delay the orgasm
When a male partner feels like he’s about to ejaculate, he (or you) can grab his shaft right below the head and gently squeeze for 5 to 10 seconds. The pressure on his urethra and the constriction of blood flow will help repress his orgasm. This kind of tactic is a common practice for edging, where the goal is halt an orgasm (for men or women) just before climax, take a moment to calm down, and then start back up again, leading to an incredibly intense orgasm eventually.
5. Take a breather
Remember when Michael Scott ate a whole bowl of fettuccine Alfredo to prepare for a race? Don’t do that. Do, however, take water breaks—or cuddle/massage/chat/shower breaks during sex. Intimacy and sensuality mean a lot of different things to different people. “Maybe that’s explicit sexual acts or maybe not,” says Levkoff. A shower, for example, doesn’t have to mean sex is over—it can be a part of the ongoing sexual experience, a steamy break before orgasm number two.
6. Make the time to really enjoy sex
We get it: Sunrise yoga, 9-to-5 job, cocktails with friends, and catching up on season three of The Handmaid’s Tale all in time to get a full night’s sleep takes energy and dedication. Maybe you can pencil in 10 minutes for sex between cocktails and Hulu, but probably not. The bottom line is: If you want sex to last longer, make time for it. “Create a large enough window to relax. Most people leave way too little time for a juicy exploratory encounter,” says Cooper. She recommends stimulating new places on your partner’s body and experimenting with varying levels of pressure—both things that require time and intention.