Your love life shouldn't have an expiration date. If you find your interest in sex waning as you get older, you may need to explore some more creative ways to engage with your mate.

Why Your Sex Drive Wanes With Age

There's no doubt about it: As time passes, your desire for sex, and your physical responses, may change. "As our bodies age, our sex drive hormones decrease, the blood flow to the genitals is slower, we may be experiencing aches and pains, and various medications may interfere with sexual arousal and orgasm," says ageless sexuality advocate Joan Price, MA, who is the author of Naked at Our Age: Talking Out Loud about Senior Sex and Better Than I Ever Expected: Straight Talk about Sex After Sixty.

"Aging may also bring self-consciousness about our bodies and our sexual responsiveness. Men may experience erectile difficulties. Women may experience lessened libido, slower arousal, thinning vaginal tissues."

Exploring Other Forms of Intimacy

With so many issues to worry about, it's no wonder that some older folks decide to put their sex life on hold and avoid dealing with all of these problems directly. Yet Price says that there are lots of satisfying ways you can be intimate with your partner and meet each other's sexual needs, even without having intercourse.

"The more sexually active we are—with a partner or solo—the better able we are to get around or even ignore the challenges," Price explains. "If we take our focus off of intercourse as being the goal, we can experience a rich sensuality that encompasses the whole body and expands our sexual awareness."

Overcoming Age and Sex Issues

One way to overcome age and sex issues is by incorporating sex toys and props, since they can enhance sexual pleasure for both sexes. Role playing, erotica, and fantasy can also help to spice things up, and these strategies can be effective in both long-term marriages and also in new relationships where you're getting to know someone on a deeper level.

Sex Without Intercourse

"Sex without intercourse can be immensely satisfying both sexually and emotionally as we learn how to satisfy our partner and ourselves with hands, mouth, and sex toys," Price says. "Penetration with a penis isn't necessary in order to be able to bond physically and emotionally."

This means that regardless of how you come together, the bottom line is that through the process you end up feeling good, enjoying yourself, and hopefully establishing a deeper connection.

Joan Price, MA, reviewed this article.

 


 

Source:

Price, Joan, MA. Ageless sexual advocate and author of Naked at Our Age: Talking Out Loud about Senior Sex and Better Than I Ever Expected: Straight Talk about Sex After Sixty. Email interview 9 April 2013. www.joanprice.com/
www.NakedAtOurAge.com