Senior Sex

When the heart is willing but the flesh is weak, seniors search for solutions to a lack of senior sex.

They're using Viagra to get back their va-va-va-voom, turning to sex therapists for tips, donning their reading glasses for Sex and the Seasoned Woman or Better Than Expected: Straight Talk About Sex After Sixty.

And they're getting advice from clerks in adult retail shops about products that will better the bedroom experience.

Don't think your parents, or grandparents for that matter are concerned with sex in their senior years?

Think again my friends.

Senior Sex Statistics

Only about 5 percent of those 60 and older believe that sex should be left to the young, according to researchers for AARP, the nation's largest lobbying group for older people. About 85 percent of this age group has some sort of intimate experience once a week, including kissing or intercourse. The AARP poll of 1,682 people older than 45 had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.

The final survey did reveal that sex, though not the most important part of life, is one important part of the majority of senior's lives.

Senior Sex Therapy

While the sexual revolution continues, the ability to perform has declined for many leaving seniors in the dust looking for answers.

Wanting to add a little something or restore what once was is what brings many clients to sex therapists who are seeing a steady increase in the number of older clients coming for advice over the past few years.

Of course, many of the couples need help in dealing with physical changes, such as menopause, andropause or problems maintaining erections. Viagra and similar medications have greatly improved sexual performance for many couples by addressing these issues.

Sexual dysfunction can increase with age, including complications of decreased amounts of circulating estrogen, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Antidepressants can also alter libido.

But, when people ask about wanting to improve their sex lives, it isn't always based on physical problems. Often they don't have effective ways to communicate, something they developed early on in their marriage. If they had difficulties communicating 20 years ago, chances are they are still having problems today.

Everyone has to go through that and make decision and experiment to solve the mysteries of senior sex and sexuality, no matter how old.

Exploring your sexual side is a lifelong work in progress.

But don't overlook this basic fact ... senior sex is really about creating mutual erotic pleasure, not necessarily intercourse.