Many women find that sexual stimulation of their erogenous zones, such as the vagina, clitoris, and breasts, sets them on the path to orgasm. But some women reach orgasm even when they’re not in a typical sexual situation.

It is difficult to know how many women experience orgasms this way or how often such orgasms occur. However, the following pathways have been described:

• Thinking.

Experts often talk about the brain as an essential sexual organ. For some women, fantasizing about a romantic or sexual situation is enough to make them climax. This method may take some time and practice, and women might combine the activity with relaxation techniques, deep breathing, or pelvic floor exercises.

• Sleeping.

Like men, women can have spontaneous orgasms while they sleep. (In men, these are called “wet dreams.”) Nocturnal orgasms usually occur after a sexual dream during which women become aroused. Women may wake up with an intense feeling of pleasure.

• Exercising.

Orgasms are also possible while working out. Research suggests that abdominal exercises, climbing, and weight lifting are the most common methods. Biking, spinning, rope-climbing, pole-climbing may also lead to “coregasms.”

While they might seem pleasurable, spontaneous orgasms aren’t always welcome events. Women with persistent genital arousal disorder (PGAD) feel continuously sexually aroused without any sexual contact or thoughts. Symptoms can last for hours, days, or longer. Orgasms might relieve symptoms to some degree, but not permanently. PGAD is a distressing condition, and patients often feel embarrassed.