Factors Affecting Sex Life In Senior Citizens

Graying hair, loose muscles and weakening voice are all signs that remind a person that age is taking a toll on him or her. Another thing that is mostly only whispered is about boosting sexual desire and sex drive. While the gusto of youth may have diminished, does it mean that seniors can’t enjoy good sex up to their sunset day? Why is it that there is general assumption that senior citizens past a specific age have already had their sex days and should live in relative celibacy?

Why seniors are perceived as asexual

There are many factors that contribute to this concept.  A few of these include:

Societal views about sex

In some communities, sex is perceived as a means for procreation only. This makes it difficult for senior women past the productive age to display their sexual feelings lest they are seen in bad light in the unwritten rules of the society.

Men are not spared either by the judgmental society. Derogatory terms such as ‘dirty old man’ are common for seniors who show that despite their age they still have sexual needs to be met.  While sexually active older men can easily ride against such a tide of criticism, it is much more difficult for women.

In addition to the above, religious believes also play a major role in creating the wrong impression about sex. Many create a picture of sex being a sinful desire of the flesh that needs to be suppressed. With this believe, sex in old age is given little attention.  As studies have shown, sex is like a muscle – you use it or lose it. When the larger population sees such asexual seniors, they get the impression that that is how all good senior citizens should live (or behave).

Diseases and disabilities

It is true that advancing age increases the risk of certain diseases. For men certain health conditions can reduce or even kill their sexual desire and function. Such disorders include:

·        Cardiovascular diseases like hypertension

·        Vascular disorders including atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis

·        Metabolic disorders including diabetes

·        Lack of libido

·        Obesity

·        Low testosterone levels

·        Depression

·        Prostate tumors

·        Operations like prostatectomy

The prevalence of these health problems make many people assume that old people should only be actively swallowing pills to keep them alive than being busy engaging in sex.

Buy Maxidus now for better sexual performance.

Women are also not spared by the increased risk of disease that comes with age. There are conditions that can also greatly reduce their sexual desire and drive. To the unknowing population they might think that these women have reached their ‘sell by sexual shelf life’. The burden of disease and society expectations can end up killing any remnants of sexual desire in such women. Common conditions that can lead to this sexual state include:

·        Falling estrogen levels

·        Falling testosterone level. Women need this hormone not only for healthy sex but for overall good health. The hormone levels are however, much lower than in men.

·        Bone disorders including arthritis.

·        Pelvic operations including hysterectomy

·        Systemic and metabolic disorders seen in men.

It must be noted that despite this conditions many older women still desire and enjoy sex even after extensive and invasive pelvic surgeries.

How can seniors retain better sexual health right into their ripe old age? That is a topic for a future article.

Causes of Poor Sexual Performance

A sexual performance can be affected by many factors. Some of the common causes that decrease your sexual performance are pregnancy, illness and menopause. Many medications such as anti-depressants, anti-seizure medications and anti-arrhythmic drugs affect the sexual drive. Hypoactive sexual desire disorder and sexual performance anxiety are few disorders that are related to fluctuations in sexual desire.  

Sex is not just a physical response but your mind also plays an important role in the sexual drive for example arousal is tied into your emotions so a healthy mind will boost your sex drives. You will not be able to enjoy sex if you are too stressed out or unable to focus on sex.

Almost 1 in 5 men experience decreased libido at some point in their life. Females are also not immune. Some of the most important causes of decreased libido are stress, anxiety, pregnancy, childbirth and breast feeding. These causes are usually temporary however, a long term unexpected lack of libido may be caused by some health related issues which can be upsetting for both partners.

Causes of decreased sexual performance:

•       Stress

Stress and anxiety have a bad impact on your sexual life. You should consult your GP and make some lifestyle changes if you are constantly tired or anxious.

•       Depression:

Depression can be a serious disorder if left untreated. Depression is characterized by the absence of pleasure in life, extreme sadness, weight changes, hopelessness and sleep fluctuations. The symptoms of depression severely affect your daily life routine which also includes your sex life.  Don’t just start taking anti-depressants without consulting your doctor because decreased libido is a side effect of many anti-depressants.

•       Alcohol:

Excess utilization of alcohol can also reduce your sexual performance so it is a good idea to limit your alcohol intake.

•       Age:

You may feel loss of interest in sex as you get older. It is due to the falling sex hormone level or age related health disorders. Men usually experience low testosterone level as they get older. Estrogen in female begins to fall as they approach menopause.  

•        Hormonal Problems:

Some of the hormones such as thyroid hormone are also associated with reduced sexual performance. Low levels of thyroid hormone or high prolactin levels have a negative effect on your health.

•       Contraception:

Long term use of hormonal contraceptives also reduces sex drive. These contraceptives include vaginal ring, contraception patch, OCP and progesterone only pills.

•     Lack of sleep:

A good night sleep is necessary to keep your mind and body healthy. Lack of sleep increases cortisol level which decreases libido. 

How to increase male libido?

The low sex drive not only affects women, many men in their lifetime also experience lack of libido. Knowing how to increase male libido can help man recover or revitalise their sex life, allowing it to be lived and enjoyed in full.

It is a common misconception that only women suffer from low libido, but the truth is that about 1 in 5 men suffer from low sex drive and push sex into the background compared to other activities.

Low male libido causes

Aging is the main causal factors of low male libido; however, it is not the only reason for this condition. All men are different and although many maintain their sexual desire throughout life, others suffer a break at certain times and due to various causes. The main causes can be:

Psychological causes: Stress and anxiety present in the day-to-day problems in relationships, depression and its treatment, can affect sexual desire.

Medical problems: Health problems such as diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure or high cholesterol, also influence sexual desire, as well as some anti-AIDS drugs and hair loss.

Hormonal causes: Testosterone is the hormone in both male and female, is responsible for sexual desire. In some chronic diseases, due to some medication or after andropause, testosterone levels can undergo breakage, having negative consequences on the male libido. Sexuality can also be affected by low levels of thyroid hormone or prolactin produced in the brain.

Dopamine: Dopamine is a messenger substance in the brain; with this your body is closely linked to sexual desire. Low levels of dopamine, common in people with depression or other neurological diseases, are proven to interfere with sexual desire.

Treatment for low male libido

Treatment for low male libido depends on the causal factors, so if present underlying health conditions, these should be treated first.

In addition, there are some changes that can improve your sex life, such as:

Let yourself be carried away by the moment: If your partner or partner wants to have sex and your will is not much, just do not say no. Give in to her advances and lose yourself in the moment. The most certain is that the dormant sex drives awakens in the middle of stimulation and can take pleasure.

Sleep well: Sleeping well increases the production of testosterone during the night, which will allow more constant levels during the day and the increase in sexual desire, especially in the morning.

Evaluate other sexual dysfunction: Erectile dysfunction can shake male confidence, which in turn has an impact on sexual desire. The inability to achieve erections sufficient for penetration needs some professional care; your condition should be properly evaluated and may require the taking of oral treatments for impotence, to help eliminate this concern.

Have sex elsewhere: The mind-set that will have sex in the same bed and in the same room can always be demotivating. Consider other rooms such as bathroom, kitchen or living room in the house, which can further stimulate your sex drive simply by being different.

Sexual Disorders in Women

According to some studies every third woman at the age between 18 and 60 is suffering for some type of sexual disorder or has tom deal with low libido. The most common cause of these occurrences is the hormonal changes that take place during the menstrual cycle or after the woman enters the menopause period. But very often low sex drive occurs after childbirth when the woman experience painful sexual intercourse or suffer from depression.

During the menopause there are hormonal changes that naturally lead to sudden or gradual loss of sexual desire. The moisture in the vagina is lowered or completely lost which results in drier and less flexible vagina. This is why many women at that age complain about painful sexual intercourse which is the main reason why sexual life becomes so poor. But there is a simple solution for a problem like that and it comes in the form of hormonal and few other types of creams.

In the last decade, doctors advise women who are in the period of menopause to take hormonal therapies that include estrogen because these therapies have positive effects on the libido. But the most interesting part about female sex drive is that new mothers are the ones that lose interest in sex faster than any other group of women. Of course, the main reason is that they are too busy with the baby and they don’t have much time to exchange tenderness with their partner.

When a woman doesn’t have any physical problem, lack of sexual desire could be a result of some psychological obstacle. A special problem occurs in women that lose interest in sex after they had some medical interventions that involved their reproductive organs like hysterectomy or mastectomy for example.

Some women might relate these situations with loss of their youth, femininity and beauty because they lead to premature menopause. Some of the most common sexual disorders are sexual desire disorders and orgasm disorders. The loss of sexual desire doesn’t exclude sexual pleasure or arousal by default. But it certainly means that the sexual activities will be less frequent.

One of the sexual disorders that is interesting for the scientists is so-called psycho-sexual aversion to sexual pleasure and lack of libido that manifests in refusal of any type of sexual contact with the partner.

In many cases these women were victims of sexual abuse at some point in their life. On the other hand, there are situations when the woman has unexplainable desire for sex most of the time – nymphomania. It is important to understand that these disorders are not organic.

The causes of sexual disorders can be numerous – somatic diseases (for example, one third of people suffering from diabetes have sexual disorders), alcohol abuse, drug abuse, decreased activity of the thyroid gland, abnormal anatomy of the vagina as a result of surgery, infections, use of medications etc.

Besides these somatic factors, mistakes made in the process of education at home and at school can lead to problems too.