Wet Dreams & Nocturnal Emissions

Many people know that some men achieve orgasm while sleeping from erotic dreams, but some women also experience a form of these “wet dreams” as well. A “wet dream” is “an erotic dream culminating in orgasm and in the male accompanied by ejaculation of semen.”1

Since women do not ejaculate semen during a sexually inspired dream, the other names for such an experience are sleep orgasms, nocturnal emissions, and nocturnal orgasms.

The sourced articles below should provide more information on who has “wet dreams” and why and when they occur.

Footnote: 1. merriam-webster.com, accessed 5/23/2018

  1. Do Women Have Wet Dreams?

    “We often associate the term ‘wet dream’ (nocturnal emission) with adolescent boys, who often ejaculate during sleep after having a sexual dream. This is a normal part of growing up. Adult men may have wet dreams as well. For women, the experience is less ‘wet’ but still intense. The sexual dreams may lead to vaginal lubrication and orgasms (often called nocturnal orgasms). They can happen during adolescence and throughout adulthood. Unfortunately, women’s orgasms during sleep have not been widely studied.”

    Online Resource, issm.info, accessed on 5/22/2018

  2. Everything You Need To Know About Wet Dreams

    “While wet dreams are typically associated with adolescent boys, they are a common experience for both sexes from puberty through adulthood. The medical term for a wet dream is nocturnal emission.”

    Jenna Fletcher, Reviewed by Janet Brito, PhD, LCSW, CST, medicalnewstoday.com, 3/29/2018

  3. Do Women Have Wet Dreams Too?

    “What is a wet dream?: Wet dream is referred to as nocturnal emission, with nocturnal relating to night and emission relating to sexual discharge. It refers to a state of arousal and subsequent ejaculation in men. They may wake up to a hard penis that has just ejaculated. For women, it refers to sexual arousal during sleep that leads to vaginal wetness and awaking to experience an orgasm. However, some women sleep through their climax. The ones who have orgasms while sleeping are not able to say with certainty if they had orgasm during their sleep or not but this is perfectly normal.”

    Online Resource, timesofindia.indiatimes.com, 8/21/2017

  4. Wet Dreams: Bemused And Bewildered

    “Among boys, a wet dream is a spontaneous, uncontrolled orgasm with ejaculate (semen) emitting from the penis during sleep—hence the technical term ‘nocturnal emission. … Once a boy masturbates as a regular feature of life, wet dreams become history or so infrequent that they are a surprise when they do occur.”

    Ritch C Savin-Williams, PhD, psychologytoday.com, 7/1/2017

  5. No, You Don’t Have To Have A Penis To Have A “Wet Dream”

    “The reason why they get wet dreams probably has to do with the increase of testosterone during puberty, and the increase of blood flow to the penis at night, says Aleece Fosnight, MSPAS, PA-C, CSC, CSE, a urology physician assistant and sexual health counselor. Adults with penises and even adults with vaginas can also have wet dreams. They just don’t happen as frequently, Fosnight says.”

    Cory Stieg, refinery29.com, 6/12/2017

  6. 23 Guys Describe What A Wet Dream Feels Like

    “‘My body seems to go onto a sort of trance where I feel slightly heavier, or the covers over me feel like they are adding more weight than before, and somehow even the air in the room is denser or different. …”

    Lorenzo Jensen, III, thoughtcatalog.com, 11/1/2016; (Broken link removed 8/2023)

  7. Just How Often Do Women Have Wet Dreams?

    “Though the research is a bit old, The Journal of Sex Research published a study from 1986 stating that by the time they turned 21, 85% of women had a ‘nocturnal orgasm.'”

    Ali Drucker, maxim.com, 12/14/2015

  8. How To Have A Full-Blown Orgasm In Your Sleep

    “‘Women can have sexy dreams that end in orgasm, just like men,’ says Michael Krychman, M.D., ob-gyn and executive director of the Southern California Sexual Health Center. An orgasm is the (insanely good-feeling) rhythmic contraction of your pelvic floor muscles, but it also triggers the release of neurotransmitters that create euphoria in the brain, says Krychman. As you’ll see, the marriage between your brain and body can create sensations that will tempt you to reach for the snooze button time and time again.”

    Zahra Barnes, womenshealthmag.com, 9/18/2015