There are many health benefits to sexual intimacy. A healthy sex life can have a positive effect on the immune system, happiness and sleep, while also lowering blood pressure and stress levels.
That is a whole bunch of benefits from something that feels good too. So what’s stopping you from keeping healthy?
It has been found to help combat feelings of loneliness, stress, and also helps reduce depression.
There is the idea that one’s desire for sex ends at a certain age, however, 54% of adults aged 65 - 80 say sex is important to their quality of life.
According to experts in an WebMD article, having sex is an important part of overall health and happiness, and people who have it, live longer.
“Sex can actually get better as you get older,” says Dr. Robin Miller, a practising physician with Triune Integrative Medicine in Medford, Oregon.
"For instance, for men, they can control their ejaculation better as they get older," Miller said. "Women aren't worried about pregnancy once they go through menopause, so they're freer," Muller adds.
A healthy sex life can also have a positive effect on the immune system, mood, and sleeping pattern while also lowering blood pressure and stress levels. It has also been found to help overcome feelings of loneliness and sadness.
With that being said, with age comes a lot of challenges as well such as, erectile dysfunction. However, there are improved medication to treat conditions such as these, that all older adults to maintain a more active and effective sex life than in previous generations.
It is important for all age groups to speak about sexual health, sexual health in older generations remains important, as age doesn’t protect you from sexually transmitted infections.
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) affect people of any age. In 2020, data analysed by men’s health platform Manual discovered that there was a high rate of STIs among adults aged 65 and over.
In the study, chlamydia was revealed as the most common STI for adults aged 65 and over, with 362 reported cases. The second most common STI for adults aged 65+ was anogenital warts with 273 diagnoses in 2020. This was closely followed by gonorrhoea with 252 cases in the same year.
STIs should remain as significant a concern for the over 65s as they do for younger people. Addressing misconceptions about STIs in older adults is key to reducing the spread of diseases.
Dr Earim Chaudry, MD at Manual, says that there are common myths associated with older adults and STIs, such as; no fear of pregnancy means condoms aren’t needed or that STIs are only an issue for younger people.
“STIs are often symptomless or early symptoms, such as fatigue and weakness, can be misdiagnosed as signs of ageing or other diseases. Other health conditions like heart problems, diabetes and weaker immune systems can cause further complications for elderly people with an STI,” Dr. Chaudry concludes.