As women age, it’s not uncommon to experience reduced interest in sex. Declining estrogen and testosterone contribute to a lower sex drive. While this is not unusual, it may feel frustrating and isolating because talking about sex can be difficult. If your libido has faded, your experience is far from an isolated phenomenon. A study in Journal of Women’s Health reported that 34 percent of postmenopausal women were very dissatisfied with their current level of sexual desire, and a study by the North American Menopause Society found that up to 85 percent of postmenopausal women report challenges with sexual function, including reduced libido. These findings highlight the prevalence of low libido among postmenopausal women and underscore the importance of addressing sexual health concerns during this stage of life.
While many women experience a decline in libido later in life, others see no change or even an increase in sexual desire. Plenty of older couples have a robust and satisfying sex life, but research suggests that a substantial percentage do not. A study published in the Journal of Gerontology surveyed 1,900 married adults ages 57 to 85 and found that 40 percent had not had sex the previous year.
There is no “normal” frequency for having sex at any age. If there’s no conflict around sex in your relationship—perhaps you both have reduced interest or no interest at all—as long as the relationship is loving and intimate in other ways, there is nothing to be concerned about. But if your sex drive is stalled and you are unhappy about that, there are a variety of ways (described on page 4) to help rev things up, including hormone replacement therapy (HRT), topical estrogen creams, and low-dose testosterone therapy. The first step in finding the solution that is right for you is pushing aside any feelings of embarrassment and having the conversation with your health-care provider—because you deserve to feel confident, connected, and vibrant at every stage of life.
The post Sex Drive Stuck in Park? appeared first on University Health News.
