Refractory period

The term "refractory period" may refer to:

• Refractory period (physiology), the amount of time it takes for an excitable membrane to be ready for a second stimulus once it returns to its resting state following excitation in the areas of biology, physiology, and cardiology.
• Refractory period (sex), the recovery phase after orgasm during which it is physiologically impossible for an individual to have additional orgasms.
• Psychological refractory period, the delay in response to the second of two closely spaced psychological stimuli.
• The period of weeks or even months following a series of seizures during which seizures cannot be induced when referring to epilepsy, known as the Postictal state.