Does libido decrease with age?

I knew mine had slacked off some but no big deal until my partner asked me ask my NP about testosterone therapy I was shocked . I have had a little E.D. but that is just part of not being young. I did not mention it to my NP despite her asking if I had any worries or questions. It's just not easy to talk about. I think I have doing better anyway

Well I've just hit 40 and it's a comprehensive no. In fact, I'm inclined to think my mind is getting darker (in an S/M sense) and dirtier as I go on.

Well, I am 84close to 85 and my libido has not decreased a whit. I wake up every morning horny and I like stroke and edge before getting up. My problem is coming to a conclusion or orgasm. My fantasy has to be very strong and sometimes I con't get it off for 4 or 5 days. That is the price you will pay with old age.

Mine had declined slowly over the years- I am 59 now. My wife's libido has definitely declined too, so it really wasn't that noticeable.

So about a year ago when I went in for my annual physical I had my testosterone level checked and it was low. My doctor said I could benefit form testosterone replacement therapy if I wanted to give it a try. I did and now my libido is much higher (I know testosterone treatment is a controversial subject but for me it has been great). The only problem is that my libido is high and my wife's is not. We still enjoy having sex but I find myself masturbating a fair amount to fill in the gaps. She doesn't have problem with me masturbating but I would like it if she had the same libido as mine.

I am in my forties, and for me it is as strong as it always has been. I do know my kinky side has definitely increased!

If anything my libido has increased over the years, almost to the point of distraction. The problem for me like so many other men my age is ability and capacity/endurance. Fortunately modern science has helped with that in the cloak of a little blue pill, hormone therapy, implants, etc. etc. I don't believe there is such a thing as "enough."

In our case, mine has stayed quite high. My wife as FINALLY outgrown the menopause debacle and she has practically no interest. A very sad change from the first 20+ years of our life together.

My libido decreased over the last several years, but I think it was largely brought on by my wife's declining libido as she approaches menopause.

I didn't think much about it - thinking it was just age catching up with me and actually felt it was a good thing since my wife's interest in sex already too low to register.

A recent need for an enema led to a chain of events - high enemas, prostate stimulation, and anal exploration to name a few - and now I find my libido has returned stronger than ever. I find myself evaluating people i meet (both male and female) on how they would be as an enema partner or sexual partner for a particular fetish. I also find myself evaluating common objects i observe for their potential as a sex toy or enema nozzle.

I'm no expert, but it is my opinion that the libido is not purely physical - erogenios exercise, stimulation, and most importantly emotional state - play a huge factor as well.

I do need certain things as I always have, high colonics and enemas, and crave the enemas and pleasing much more then I ever did intercourse. Yes, for me giving oral sex was much more pleasure to me, just to please.

I last posted in this thread in July 2010.

I'm still as horny as ever. Things might change in a few decades, but there doesn't seem to be a sign yet.

Libido varies in function with the quality of the relation you have with your lover.

A spouse can be like petrol on fire, alas a spouse can also be a real efficient libido extinguisher.

A girl friend can give a second life to the male libido.

Male are very weak about this, because their libido is decreasing so softly that they don't realise the changes.

>> I'm still as horny as ever. Things might change in a few decades, but there doesn't seem to be a sign yet.

So am I. But while the spirit hasn't changed, let's just say that as the decades roll on the flesh isn't what it used to be.

I'll be 74 tomorrow, and I've got to say no. My wife, lover and soul mate is 52 and just through the change, and I think we enjoy each other more now than when we were first married, 31 years ago.

The sexual urges are still there as much as ever. With our additional body weight and decreased endurance, the nature of our sexual encounters have changed. The time it takes for hubby to cum has certainly increased. We spend more time with mutual masturbation, touching and oral sex.

I haven't noticed that mine has. I do subscribe to the idea though,that if you don't use it , you'll lose it.

Not so far!

Libido, no.

But now seldom get the spontaneous boners that I experienced as a teenager.

64 now, and credit discovery and participation on Zity with increased urges - thanks everyone!

It's not psychology, it's physiology. Hormones decrease and libido with them.

Mine has and with some the medication's I take but thought hasn't but deed lags behind

Less of a decrease in libido, but more of a decrease in ability to act upon those feelings....not like in 20's :+)

I am 65 y/o woman...my libido has only increased since I no longer have a partner. Frustrating to no end. I masturbate as much now as I ever did as young woman but difference is that I have great trouble coming to satisfactory orgasm...can take up to 4 hrs. I don't think there is a man alive with that kind of stamina. Mutual masturbation seems only answer and the man must be patient and considerate. I am only fully satisfied with that full-body orgasm that begins with that feeling of warmth that builds up and spreads from chest to toes with strong paroxyms deep inside vagina and cervix. Those little clitoral orgasms are not satisfying to me. I am left still trying to achieve that kind of full orgasm if it didn't occur. So my answer is that age does not necessarily lessen desire, only ability to find partner and your own ability to achieve a fully satisfying orgasm in the usual amt of time it took in your youth. My sex drive is still like that of my adolescence!!

The longer I've lived, the more my inhibitions have fallen away. I feel more liberated sexually. My libido has grown stronger, too. Under the surface, I'm perpetually at some degree horny.

Those periods of my life when I was stressed or overwhelmed with work, my libido would hit rock bottom. Sex would be just another chore before I could get some sleep. Exhaustion took a big toll on all kinds of pleasurable activities.

My policy now is to avoid as much stress as possible. My ambitions are at a low ebb, and I now realize what the really important things in life are.

Hi- Brand new to here but mine has not. My capacities have diminished but my drives are as strong as ever at 61, perhaps on an upswing as I've been taking supplements a little more regularly than earlier in life, -- some l-tyrosine, l-deprynel and fish oils. As noted above, inhibitions are greatly decreased with maturity. I'm under less internal pressures, less interest in taking on self-imposed guilt or demands. I'm more willing to seek and find playmates with a little more time although it's often the case I'm as busy as ever. I see private clients but far fewer, no longer believe I'm income bound, social expectations are moderate which isn't how I've lived until the last 3 years. I find pleasure with my primary partner, occasional lovers and myself nearly daily in one form or another, but ejaculation and orgasm are fewer. My biggest complaint is not enough playmates, with sufficient variation to keep up with interests. In many ways I'm like a kid in a candy store. A better candy store than I've ever been in before. I still have plenty of other interests and responsibilities but manage them better, emotionally, mentally and financially and my sex life has improved accordingly.

Polytical11, I like your attitude. Not being weighed down with self-imposed guilt or stress over problems that you either did not create or cannot influence are very important. Stress and related tiredness are libido killers, as is lack of exercise. I think it can help to take certain supplements but a good overall diet and exercise are the foundations. Good on you!

Personally I take steps to maintain myself including plenty of exercise, including with my wife, who makes it her mission to keep my prostate and seminal vesicles empty. As regards supplements, I take krill oil rather than fish oil. Krill oil might contain less of the EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids, but its composition suggest better absorption by the body. I am not aware of any effective studies that directly compare their effectiveness, however. It is probably too early to reach any firm conclusion on that, but I'd be pretty surprised if krill oil was ever found to be less effective as a source of omega-3.

Not much at 63. Still horny as ever, just some medication induced ED and OD.

Interesting topic for here. because of all my observations. Sam initiated this topic 5 years ago & apparently hasn't visited this site since. He has identified himself as over 50 & always horny, so i would think he sort of knew the answer more or less all along.

My observation on this site & another is a good half the posts i read are from folks in their 50's, 60's, 70's (which tells you right there). And from what i've read in these posts, i gather that not only does libido NOT decrease with age, but it seems like the level of kinkiness may actually INcrease with age, Understandably so, as older people are less inhibited, more free to be themselves, less caring about what others think, etc.

And it's all good,

The bottle of sex lube stays on the night stand or on the mattress next to my pillow. It gets used a lot!

I'm 63 and my wife is 58. We both still enjoy sex several times a week.

I think that people lose a certain amount of natural energy over time if they do not take care of their bodies. Another factor that can cause libido to decrease with age is a narrow-minded and unhealthy attitude towards sex, which I just read in an interesting article:

Female Sex Drive Over Time: New Research on Whether It Wains and Why

http://sexualwellnessnews.com/female-sex-drive-time-new-research-whether-wains/

Wondering whether your sex drive will plummet as your age increases? New research published in JAMA Internal Medicine showed that how you perceive sex could play a bigger role than chronology.

In the study, researchers examined the sexual beliefs and activity of 605 women age 40 to 65 for eight years. Women who deemed sex important were three times as likely to remain sexually active than women who did not, findings showed–even into older age and regardless of physiological shifts blamed for libido loss, such as menopause. Researchers also noted that vaginal stimulation wasn’t required for participants’ sexual satisfaction, and intimacy may take a higher priority later in life.

This research isn’t the first to debunk the commonly held myth that sex drive dwindles with age or to reveal the female sex drive as powerful, given sex-positive attitudes. Even so, headlines touting the findings, that female sex drive doesn’t have to wane over time, have surprised many.

Sexual Wellness News discussed the findings and what they mean in a larger social context with Chauntelle Tibbals, PhD, a Los Angeles-based sociologist who specializes in gender, sexualities, new media and popular culture. Here’s what the renowned expert had to say:

SWN: What social and cultural factors contribute to a woman’s sexual desires as she ages?

Dr. Tibbals: Though the intensity of these messages certainly varies generationally and with social class (among many other things), women are basically told their entire lives they shouldn’t be having sex…or, that they should be having sex in very specific ways – and only then, maybe, is enjoying it okay.

Socio-cultural messages related to gender and sexualities such as these are hugely significant factors contributing to whether or not women desire sex as they age. Because if, as the study determined, women’s sexual desire is tied to whether or not they value sex… well, how could a lifetime of messages telling women to deemphasize and/or refrain from sex not be a factor influencing desire throughout the entire life course?

SWN: What does this study reflect about our culture’s beliefs about female sexuality?

Dr. Tibbals: I think the fact that, in 2014, researchers must spell out “women don’t always need to have vaginal sex to remain sexually active” is mind-boggling, but also very telling. In spite of the apparent liberalizations we’ve made as a society regarding sex, the fact that researchers still need to frame their findings in these terms points to how narrow our views regarding sexual behavior actually are.

Another similar “framing” issues has to do with equating sexual discomforts that may come from an aging body with losing interest in sex. This is like saying an aging athlete no longer has interest in their sport, which is ridiculous. The fact that, in 2014, these distinctions still have to be pointed out further points to our narrow attitudes about sex, especially women’s sexualities.

SWN: How does our culture’s obsession with youth and “anti-aging” commercialism influence female sexual desire?

Dr. Tibbals: This is something I talk about at length in my forthcoming book, You Study What? As a culture, we glorify youth at every turn–beauty, sexuality, creativity, mental acuity, athleticism, you name it. In terms of sexualities and commercial media, we only ever really see one very narrow age bracket of (young) women presented as desirable. And women aren’t really ever shown desiring anything…well, at least not anything sexually. Thus, what we end up with are mass media messages telling us that women are desirable only, and only when they are young.

One can only be bombarded by such messages, which are themselves a significant dimension of our wider socio-cultural fabric, for so long before they start to have a negative impact on both sexual desire and feelings of sexual desirability.

SWN: What other myths are prevalent about female sexuality during midlife?

Dr. Tibbals: I think the main myth regarding women’s sexualities is that, as we’re discussing, they’re nonexistent. But I also think the idea that sexuality is fixed is another myth that becomes extremely onerous during mid-life and beyond. As humans, in many arenas, we seem to fall into patterns and identities early on in youth. We then hold on to those patterns and identities, even with sexuality, throughout the duration of our lives. I think the “myth” that identities, including sexual identities, are fixed has an especially negative impact on women during mid-life.

SWN: In addition to having any medical issues addressed, what practical steps can a woman with low-libido during mid-life take to empower herself sexually?

Dr. Tibbals: It’s my view that education and communication are key. Communication with one’s partner(s) is essential in any relationship. This may seem obvious, but open communication is challenging, both in terms of your own feelings and needs and those of whomever you’re communicating with. Communication takes work, but it’s empowering, and it’s worth it. Further, as a lifelong learner myself, I cannot stress the importance of education enough. Education in general is important, but it’s especially important in terms of mid-life sexuality. As we age, we change – physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. Learning about sexuality within this context of change is both empowering and so important.

Author: August McLaughlin

I'm also 59 and, if anything, my libido is higher than ever. What to do about my wife, who seems to be heading in the opposite direction?