3. Circulation: Having a limb fall asleep is a sign of bad bondage, a definite no-no. The tie-er-upper should check for cooling or discoloration (i.e. whitening) of parts past the restraints about every few minutes. If the bound one starts feeling an uncomfortable tingling or numbness, they should pipe up. If you fail to follow these simple instructions and a limb gets totally numb, then remove the restraints, lower the limb, massage the area to help with blood flow, and cover up to help warm the limb.

4. Nerves: If you tie someone up incorrectly, very important nerve paths can get pinched. The result is usually shooting or focused pain. Untie immediately to avoid serious nerve damage!

5. Positions: Don't restrain someone in a standing position--you don't want any pressure on the restraints. Instead, make sure they're lying comfortably on their back on a bed--it's the least stressful. With a little practice, healthy dabblers can stay in a comfortable position for about a half hour. You can extend play by varying positions often and leaving enough slack (sometimes a few inches is all you need) for the bound person to move their bod a bit to readjust when necessary.

6. Breathing: Don't obstruct nasal passageways, or gag someone. Covering their eyes with an eye mask is okay, so long as you get their permission first.

7. Alone time: Don't leave a bound person alone. If abandonment is part of your thing, pretend to make a dramatic exit and keep an eye on them from afar, checking on them every few minutes. But really, why not just stick with them and tease them mercilessly?

8. Check-ins: Whoever's in the driver's seat is ultimately responsible for the safety of their bound partner. Check in with your partner often, make sure they are comfortable, encourage them to let you know of any numbness or dizziness, feel for cooling due to compromised circulation, and look for signs that they might be on the verge of freaking out. But if you follow all of the above advice, there should be nothing to worry or freak out about.

9. Trouble-shooting: Be aware of medical conditions like joint pain, heart problems, bad backs, asthma, sexually transmitted diseases and infections, etc.--a good idea with any kind of sex, really.

10. New partners: If a brand new partner lets you tie them up, they're a dumb-ass and you probably shouldn't be playing with them in the first place. So it goes without saying, never let yourself be tied up on a first date. While we're at it, don't stare directly into the sun, don't play in traffic, don't stick your hand in boiling water, and don't jump off bridges.

Some of the above was excerpted from our book "The Big Bang: Nerve's Guide to the New Sexual Universe"