Aging Is Not A Barrier To An Active To Sex Life
Feb 10, 2009 by Mike
A recent survey conducted in the U.S. of 3,005 people aged between 57 and 85 showed that a significant number of the elderly are sexually active into their 70s and even 80s!
It seems that only health problems or the lack of a partner, rather than a lack of desire are the most common barriers to sex.
The researchers say that their survey upends most stereotypical ideas about sex and ageing and add that it is an area that has hardly been studied.
Professor Edward Laumann of the 'University of Chicago' who is one of the report's authors said, "There are a lot of people who feel that age is very tightly correlated with sexual activity or interest. But it turns out that healthy people are sexually active if they have a partner and that this is an important part of the quality of life."
The reports findings were that ..
73% of those aged 57 to 64
53% of those aged 64 to 75
26% of those aged 75 to 85
had sex in the last year and most of those who said that they are sexually active said they are having sex at least two or three times a month.
Additionally, a half of the people surveyed up to the age of 75 said that they still engaged in oral sex and about one half of the men and one quarter of the women said they masturbated regardless of whether they had a sexual partner or not.
Stacy Tessler Lindau who was the study's leader said, "This suggests that among older adults there is an internal drive or need for sexual fulfillment".
The research also highlights the importance of health on people's sex lives because people who rated their health as poor were far less likely to be sexually active than people who were in good health.
Almost one half of the respondents reported a sexual problem.
Amongst men the most common problem was erectile problems and fourteen percent of men said they used medicine or supplements to improve their sex lives.
Women however said that lack of desire, difficulty with lubrication and an inability to climax were their most common problems.
The researchers say that their survey helps to fill a gap in research on sex and sexual attitudes amongst elderly people.
Dr. Lindau said, "People are living longer and many people have higher expectations for what ageing should be like and we spend billions on treating erectile problems. Yet we have no baseline data on sexuality on later life. These data will give people a sense of whether what they're experiencing is typical".