Sex After 70 More Satisfying Than Ever
So much emphasis is placed on problems of sexuality as we age that there has been little attention paid to the attitudes and opinions of the aging population enjoying a satisfying sex life. Swedish researchers, however, have been examining the sexual satisfaction of people over 70 since 1971 and their research seems to indicate older people are much more happy with sex after 70 than they were just 30 years ago.
Nils Beckman headed up the research team from the University of Gothenburg as they polled more than 1,500 70-year-old men and women in the general population on four separate occasions from 1971 to 2001. Interview topics included sexual activity, sexual dysfunction, and marital satisfaction.
Some of the research findings include:
- Sexual activities increased over the 30-year period for both genders.
- Married men reporting sexual intercourse rose from 52% in 1971 to 68% in 2001.
- Married women reported an increase in sexual intercourse from 38% to 56%.
- Unmarried men who reported having sexual intercourse rose from 30% to 54%.
- Unmarried women reporting sexual intercourse rose from 0.8% to 12%.
- Women reporting orgasm during sex increased over the study period.
- The number of women who say they never had an orgasm declined over the study period.
Fewer women at the end of the study reported low levels of sexual satisfaction than those at the beginning but the opposite was true for men, who reported less satisfaction at the end of the study than at the beginning. The research team suggests the number of men reporting less satisfying sexual activities toward the end of the study may be because it has become more acceptable now for men to admit to less than stellar sexual performance.
With regard to sexual dysfunction in men, the number of men reporting erectile dysfunction decreased over time but the number reporting problems with ejaculation increased. The percentage of men who reported premature ejaculation remained about the same throughout the study period.
One finding the research team considers interesting is that both sexes attribute the decline of sexual activities to the man in the relationship. Studies from the 1950s and in 2005 and 2006 reported similar conclusions.
The research team says their study is proof that many elderly people think of sexual relationships as a normal part of life, regardless of age. Because study participants consider an active sex life after 70 to be a positive and important aspect of a healthy life, it is expected that physicians will incorporate sexual concerns into a routine part of medical care to this population.
Full details of this study have been published at BMJ.com.
I think that the drugs like Viagra had a lot to do with these findings. As you said, ‘both sexes attribute the decline of sexual activities to the man’. So if men were incapable to perform 30 years ago, at least some of them are able to now (with a help of chemistry). I wish that these findings would include the percentage of men who are taking any kind of medication for erection dysfunction. It would be really interesting to see those numbers.
Sex after 70? isnt it time to pack up mate? Seriously.. I too think that these researches are works of pharma giants to promote viagra etc..
Thanks for the post about sex after 70.
You certainly must have wasted a lot of your precious time to come up with this posts on this site. Very nice information who wants to make use of it. Thanks for this. Just added your site to my Google News Reader so i can always read more of your posts as soon as they are published.
I am 73 and having sex still. not real often. Once a week or longer. I mostly have to take Viagra or one of the others. Still enjoying it. i will use concrete if I have to….I am a man….
I am a 76 year old man who enjoys a healthy active sex life. Not bragging but sometimes every night, even 4 times in one day. I don’t use any of the ED meds. But in talking with other men of my age group, 65-80, most experience the same thing, maybe not as often, but at least 2-4 times weekly. But most are having to use a ED medication. I am a phycisian and have found that most men in our age catagory don’t really need the ED meds, but rather HRT or shots of testoserone. I have made the statement to many that if you had a 1934 Chevy it would not probably run the same now as then, but you need better fuel, i.e. the testosterone. But i do have a patient who has told me since starting HRT he is enjoying great sex at 92, everyday and some time a couple times a day and that it is greater now because his endurance is longer and can satisfy his wife, which comes with age. Don’t be afraid to ask your Doctor for a free testoterone test, it may just pump you up.
Is this really true? i guess its impossible that sex at the age of 70 y.o is more satisfying..
Of course, I would suppose that many men over 70 don’t even desire sex anymore. But many of us do, including our senior partners/spouses. Three and four times a week is common for me (at age 73), and with the help of Cialis to counter high blood pressure medication. I say this because it’s important for everyone our age to understand that, if physically possible, sex in wonderful in the 70s. I would even go so far as to say we possibly could teach those younger lovers a thing or to!