Maintaining your sexual health is an important part of aging. By keeping yourself healthy, confronting problems calmly and talking openly with your partner, you can improve your chances of having a long healthy sex life.
1. Talk Openly With Your Partner
Good sex always relies on open communication with your partner. As both of you age, things will change. These changes will require patience, understanding and experimentation. Emotions can greatly impact sexual health. By maintaining good communication and intimacy, you and your partner will be able to adapt to changes as necessary. 2. Manage Your Health Conditions
Health conditions like high blood pressure and chronic pain can make a healthy sex life difficult. By aggressively managing any health conditions, you can greatly reduce their impact on your sex life. A good approach is to follow your doctor’s advice and make
lifestyle changes.
3. Talk To Your Doctor
Your doctor cannot help you with your sexual concerns unless you mention them. Some sexual problems are actually medication side effects, which can be handled by adjusting medications that you are already taking or changing the time of day that you take medications. Many medications also directly treat sexual problems. 4. Experiment With Positions and Times
Sometimes changing the time of day or the position used in sex can relieve sexual problems. If a health condition is interfering with your sex life, you may notice that your symptoms are better at a certain time of day. Try having sex then. Varying the sexual positions that you use can help too, especially if pain from arthritis or other condition interferes with sex. 5. Expand Your Concept of Sex
Men tend to think of sex in terms of orgasms, but there can be a lot more to sex. As you age, you will need more time and physical contact to become aroused. Hugging, kissing and other forms of contact are essential parts of your sex life. If you find yourself living alone, masturbation can be part of a normal, healthy sex life. 6. Avoid Alcohol and Smoking
Both alcohol and smoking can hinder a man’s ability to achieve an erection. These two substances alter the blood flow in your body and can limit the amount of blood that enters the penis. This can lead to the inability to have an erection, difficulty maintaining an erection or an erection that is softer than normal. If you are having sexual difficulties, consider abstaining from smoking and alcohol. 7. Expect Difficulties
As you age, you will experience certain changes in your sexual function. When these changes occur, don’t panic. Rather, think of them as problems to be solved. If you react emotionally to these problems, you can make them worse. By expecting some degree of sexual change as you age, you can react calmly and troubleshoot your situation. 8. Eat Healthy and Lose Weight
Being overweight puts a strain on your body that can result in high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and other health conditions, all of which can interfere with a normal sex life. By
eating healthy foods and
losing excess weight you can prevent sexual problems.
9. Stay Sexually Active
If you have a long period of time in your life when you are sexually inactive, it will be more difficult to become sexually active later. Not only can frequent sex improve your sexual performance, it can actually may even help you
live longer.
10. Safe Sex
As more and more older people continue to have an active sex life, the issue of safe sex arises. All sexually active people must take this matter very seriously. STDs and HIV are on the rise in older adults. You cannot assume that having sex is risk-free just because you and your partner are older. In fact, as the age of your sexual partner increases, his or her sexual history is longer, too. Always practice safe sex.
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