A new study has found that BDSM alters the brain’s chemistry and creates altered states of consciousness. The study was called “Consensual BDSM Facilitates Role-Specific Altered States of Consciousness: A Preliminary Study.”
Researchers recruited seven couples who practice consensual BDSM including couples in long-term relationships, polyamorous relationships, and one couple who met on the day of the study! (“Hi, nice to meet you! Spank the crap out of me and we’ll see what it does to our brains!”)
The research was published in the journal Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice. According to the findings, “Research has tested whether BDSM activities actually facilitate altered states. To this end, we randomly assigned 14 experienced BDSM practitioners to the bottom role (the person who is bound, receiving stimulation, or following orders) or the top role (the person providing stimulation, orders, or structure) for a BDSM scene. Results suggest that topping was associated with an altered state aligned with Csikszentmihalyi’s flow (measured with the Flow State Scale), and bottoming was associated with an altered state aligned with Dietrich’s transient hypofrontality (measured with a Stroop test) as well as some facets of flow. Additional results suggest that BDSM activities were associated with reductions in psychological stress and negative affect, and increases in sexual arousal.”
Brad Sagarin, a psychology professor at Northern Illinois University who worked on the study, says what happens is “the rest of the world drops away and you are completely focused on what you’re doing,” he told Time. The flow state is common with pro athletes, prolific novelists, musicians—anyone who loses themselves in an activity they’re extremely good at.”
An earlier study found “that bottoms had higher cortisol levels during their scenes, while tops did not. That’s somewhat expected—bottoms are usually experiencing pain, which should, accordingly, stress out their bodies and increase their levels of stress hormone. And after a mutually enjoyable encounter, both tops and bottoms showed decreased cortisol levels.”
So according to science, try a little BDSM and you’ll feel better.
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