There’s a line in a song I wrote as a theme song called “Red Hot Mama” for the Red Hot Mama’s menopause organization – “Just because I’m in the ‘Pause doesn’t mean I’m dead.” Yes, a number of studies show that sexual activity is alive and well as women age. But here is the whole truth about women’s sexuality.
A study in the New England Journal of Medicine from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project provided a baseline of information on women’s sexuality everyone should know.
In that 2007 survey of 1,500 women aged 57 to 85, sexual activity was shown to decline as age increases. Below is the sexual activity level in the past year among women who had a partner:
- 62 percent among those aged 57 to 64 years
- 39 percent among those aged 64 to 74 years
- 17 percent among those aged 75 to 85 years
Of course, not everyone has a partner or spouse, but if they did have a partner and they were sexually active, no matter the age group:
- 50 percent were active 2-3 times per month
- 23 percent of the oldest group was active at least once per week
The study also showed that about half of both men and women have at least one bothersome sexual problem. For women, the most common were:
- 43 percent had low desire
- 39 percent had poor vaginal lubrication
- 34 percent were unable to have an orgasm
So now you know that sex can decline with age and sexual problems can increase with age. But here is what I want you realize that can change your life: only 22 percent of women over the age of 50 have had a discussion with a physician about this problem. That’s only 1 in 5. The rest of you aren’t getting the help you need.
