Mature Sex On The Rise

More 70-year-olds are having good sex more often according to Swedish researchers in a finding bound to bring a smile to many ageing baby boomers. They found 70-year-olds of both sexes are having more sex than they did 30 years ago, and many more women report being satisfied with their sex lives. Nils Beckman of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden whose study appears in the British Medical Journal said: “Attitudes are more open-minded and positive today, at least in the elderly themselves.” Beckman and colleagues interviewed four groups of 70-year-olds in Sweden about their sex lives between 1971 and 2001. They found that 68% of married men said they were having sex in 2001, up from 52% in the early 1970s. The number of married women having sex rose to 54% in the group interviewed in 2000-2001, up from 30% in the early 1970s. 12% of the unmarried women interviewed in 2000-2001 said they were having sex, up from less than 1% in the early 1970s.

The number of women reporting high sexual satisfaction also increased, with more women reporting an orgasm during sex and fewer reporting never having had one. Interestingly the number of men reporting low sexual satisfaction rose. Beckman said this might be because men are now more open in talking about sexual failure. Overall he said the changes reflect shifting attitudes towards sex in Western societies over the past 50 years. Beckman said:” Hopefully it will inspire elderly people to seek help if having sexual problems, and make doctors and other health practitioners aware that even elderly people can be or would like to be sexually active.”

Meanwhile older men who have more sex will experience fewer erection problems, Finnish researchers reported in the July issue of The American Journal of Medicine. The five year study of 989 men aged 55-75 in Pirkanmaa, Finland, showed that having sexual intercourse less than once per week doubled the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED), compared to having sex once per week. The researchers of the Department of Urology of Tampere University Hospital in Finland checked for other factors that may affect the incidence of ED, such as age and chronic medical conditions including diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and depression. They found ED affected 79 out of 1,000 men who reported making love less than once per week. The rate dropped to 32 per 1,000 men among men who make love once per week and to 16 per 1,000 men for those doing it three times or more per week. Juha Koskimaki, one of the study’s authors said:” Regular intercourse has an important role in preserving erectile function among elderly men.” “The investigators advise clinicians to support sexual activity of their patients,” the study concludes.

Looks like having more sex is beneficial to the elderly. Am thinking that it may also applies to those in the younger age groups. "If you don't use it, lose it," the adage does seems to ring true. Having sexual intercourse more than once per week is also good to your health. Looks like a good reason to have it more often then. Tell us what is the best number and how do you keep it from becoming monotonous.