Why Sex Improves With Age

Joan Collins has proved it.  So have Ursula Andress, Sophia Loren and Michael Douglas.  Sex does get better as we get older according to new research on sex and aging carried out by doctors at Sheffield University.  It not only keeps us feeling good about ourselves, but reinforces our feelings about the way we look and act. 

The study, undertaken by Dr. Merryn Gott, aged 27 and her colleague Dr. Sharron Hinchliff, 30, at Sheffield Institute for Studies on Ageing has shown conclusively that most older people, including those in their 80’s and 90’s, see sex as vital to their quality of life.

Some 70 people were involved in the study, which was carefully balanced to include equal numbers of men and women as well as married and singles.

Pleasurable

Older women reported that one of the major reasons they believed sex became more pleasurable as they got older was because they no longer had to worry about contraception. ‘When you have taken away procreation, sex is just enjoyment,’ a woman identified as Clare, aged 52, told Dr. Hinchliff.  Her sentiments were echoed entirely by another lady, aged 84.  And a man of 92, although admitting he was no longer sexually active himself, told the researchers how much he would like to be.

Sex was also seen as a means of easing tension within marriage and as a wonderful tool for diffusing arguments, improving self-esteem, emotional well-being and body image.

Another woman told the researchers that sex lasted within marriage, ‘even when you’re a bit fat and flabby’ because when they look at one another, they still see the 18 or 19 year old they married, rather than the older person they have since become. Others said it was an important component of ‘togetherness’.

Interest

Why did two young women undertake such a study?   Says Dr. Gott who gained her doctorate in gerentology:  ‘Initially, I became interested as a result of working at the Mildmay Hospice for people with HIV and AIDS in London.  I was struck by the number of older people of both sexes at the hospice and it challenged my assumptions about sex and aging.  Part of my dissertation was on sexual risk-taking in later life and involved looking at the number of people who attend clinics for the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases.  I was amazed at how many older people attended these clinics, proving once again how sexually active they were.

‘So little has been written about older life sexuality and when large surveys are undertaken on the sexuality of the population, sex issues of older people tend to be ignored so I decided to get funding to undertake such research myself.

Surprise

‘What surprised me most was not that older people are sexually active or that they consider sexual relationships an important part of their married life and of their sexual well-being.  It is the importance that has been placed on our preliminary findings by people who have ignored such issues in the past.  A full report will be published later in the year,’ she says. 

Help the Aged Head of Policy Tessa Harding said: ‘Older peoples’ needs are just the same as everyone else’s and it’s a very artificial distinction to think of older people as somehow different.

‘Sexual and personal relationships are all part of feeling valued as individuals.  Despite the taboo about older people and sex, there is still a great variety in the sexual activity among older people.’

By Andrea Kon

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