Are Seniors Satisfied with Their Sex Lives?

Health Wellness

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I grew up in Arizona in an area that had many thousands of retired seniors and senior winter visitors. Seeing so many seniors together, I used to believe that they just liked the companionship. Whenever the mention of sex and seniors was mentioned, it seemed more like a joke than reality. I used to think to myself that there is no way all of these old people still have and enjoy sex. It was one of those topics that would seem repulsive enough to kill one’s appetite.

While I was in college, I worked nights as an orderly on the intensive care ward of a nursing home. part of my duties was any and all nightly care along with getting them up in the mornings, bathed and ready for breakfast. I gave my share of bed baths and knew that none of these people had been sexually active for many years. There was only one male patient who had a habit of stripping and going into the rooms of female patients but all he would do was try to crawl in bed with them and fall asleep, nothing sexual.

As a meter reader for the local electric company, I saw my share of naked seniors sunning themselves in backyards and not a once did I ever think of them as being sexually active. It basically reinforced my ideas of seniors not being sexual that I had developed when I was younger.

However, the older I got, the more I realized that I had bought into a common myth that seniors are not sexually active. In fact, doing some quick research for this post, I discovered that the majority of people at naturist facilities are seniors and that a great many of them also frequent clothing optional beaches.

According to a new report, 54% of seniors with spouses or partners report that they are still sexually active. The same report stated that 46% of seniors age 65-70 are still sexually active; 39% of those 71-75 are still sexually active and 25% of those 76-80 say they are still sexually active. To no great surprise, 50% of senior men said they were still interested in sex while only 12% of women expressed interest.

This got me realizing that before the days of birth control, it wasn’t uncommon for women in the 50s and even 60s to have another baby. My wife’s mom gave birth to her when she was 48 and turned 49 a month later and there were others like her back on those days, so, yes, older people still have sex, but are they satisfied with their sex lives?

Between the ages of 65-80, a whopping 73% said they were satisfied with their sex lives. Surprisingly, more senior women said they are satisfied with their sex lives than men, which may also indicate that more women may be satisfied with not having sex.

Regardless, just because someone is getting older doesn’t mean that certain activities like sex have to end. If your health allows it, there is no reason to stop just because there are enough candles on your birthday cake to burn down half the neighborhood.

Seniors Sexual Health

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