How to Have a Nipple Orgasm, According to a Sex Therapist and Neuroscientist

When your nipples are stimulated, these feel-good vibes also find their way to a key brain structure called the hypothalamus, which among its many important functions regulates the brain chemicals that make us exhilarated, furious, horny, or happy. Stimulation of the nipples causes the hypothalamus to release oxytocin—a potent neurohormone that can enhance feelings of bonding and helps trigger the pleasurable contractions experienced during a woman’s orgasm itself.

What does a nipple orgasm feel like?

From most reports, nipplegasms feel quite good and can range in intensity from the small sigh-like kind of orgasm to the bigger toe-curling variety.

If you factor in the fact that nipple stimulation targets ground zero of the genital sensory cortex and can also cause pleasurable contractions down below, it isn’t surprising that the nipplegasm can resemble orgasms from stimulation of the clitoris and vagina.

Can anyone have a nipple orgasm?

I wish I knew. Reports based on nonscientific surveys estimate the percentage of women experiencing orgasm from nipple stimulation alone ranges anywhere from 1% to 15.5%. This is far from scientifically conclusive, but I would speculate that the more orgasmic a woman is in general, the more likely it is she will be able to enjoy the delights of an orgasm induced by nipple stimulation alone.

Given that my lab has studied women who are able to experience orgasm without any physical stimulation whatsoever, which has been called “thinking off” or imagery-induced orgasms, I would say that our capacity for pleasure is a something that can be cultivated, honed, and bloomed.

How to have a nipplegasm (or at least experience enhanced nipple pleasure)

For starters, the advice I give women, in general, applies equally well here: Don’t strive for the orgasm, but rather enjoy the sensations along the way. Nonetheless, here are some suggestions for having more fun with your nipples. 

1. Focus on tuning in to pleasure.

In my opinion the biggest challenge for most people is that we live in our heads. We neglect regularly tuning in to sensations from our bodies until either something hurts or doesn’t work well.  In fact, this is such an issue for people in general that my next book is going to be about how to feel good in your body from inside out.

Women in particular get trained to think more about how our bodies look than how we actually feel living in them—a process of objectification that starts early in life and can hamper our sexual experience and even take a toll on our mental health.

2. Get your head in the game.

I published a study showing that simply imagining pleasurable genital stimulation without any actual physical touch lit up the pleasure places in the brain very much like the real thing. Once you tune in to your body, take advantage of your powerful mind and use it to connect the sensations you experience during nipple stimulation with thinking about, fantasizing, or imagining pleasurable genital touch.

3. Stimulate various parts of your body.