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These days, people are living longer and staying healthier. Many seniors are physically healthy and active, including sexually. According to the Pan American Health Organization/World health Organization’s (PAHO/WHO) Basic Indicators brochure for 2006, a woman's life expectancy, specifically in the Bahamas is now 74.8, and a man's 68.4, with The Americas measuring 77.7 for females and 71.8 for males. So it makes sense that seniors would continue to pursue activities they have enjoyed throughout life -- including sex. The examples of couples that we usually see enjoying a sexual relationship are 18 to 50 year-old people. We seldom have a picture or vision of 60-, 70-, 80-, or 90-year-olds. Society in general is guilty of assuming that when you retire from your job, you also retire from your love life.
Although many seniors still believe that sex is mainly the territory of the young, most older people are able to lead an active, satisfying sex life. Older women do not usually lose their physical capacity for orgasm; older men seldom lose their capacity for erection and ejaculation. However, we can expect a gradual slowing of response in the physical body. When problems occur, they are usually the result of disease, disability, drug reaction, or emotional upset.
As a matter of fact, the recent survey of married men and women showed that 87% of married men and 89% of married women in the 60-64 age range are sexually active. Those numbers drop with advancing years, but 29% of men and 25% of women over the age of 80 are still sexually active.
For some, older age is a time of freedom to explore sexual expression in ways never before realized. For others, they are more than happy to forget about sexual performance, and to seek other forms of companionship and interpersonal sharing. What is probably true is that people who are well and vigorous enough to engage in sexual activity are also healthier in general. It is believed that sexual activity, in its many forms, can be physically, intellectually, and even spiritually fulfilling. It is often a good form of exercise, and it can stimulate the brain and promote good mental function. Those changes that do occur in women can be traced directly to lowered levels of the hormone estrogen during and after menopause.
Older men may take somewhat longer to attain an erection than in their younger days, but there are medications that can help. The erection may not be quite as firm or as large as in earlier years. There can be a shorter ejaculation sensation, the loss of erection following orgasm may be more rapid, and a longer period of time passes before an erection is again possible. Even some of the most serious diseases rarely warrant stopping sexual activity.
There are many changes that happen in our bodies as we age, and some of these changes can modify sexual experience in later years but don’t fall into the ageist trap of thinking that sex is only for the young. Sexuality in your older years is all about breaking down stereotypes, open communication, individual choices and seeking medical assistance if necessary. For more information on Sex for Seniors, attend Doctors Hospital’s free health lecture The Distinguished Lecture Series, January 18, 2006 at 6:00pm. Featuring Dr. Ada Thompson.
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