There’s new advice for older men who want to preserve their sexual function: have sex, and have it often, researchers say.

In a study that followed nearly 1,000 older Finnish men for five years, researchers found that those who were regularly having sex at the start of the study were at lower risk of developing erectile dysfunction (ED) by the study’s end.

In fact, the more often the men had sex, the lower their ED risk.

The implication, say the researchers, is that men should be encouraged to stay sexually active into their golden years.

Dr. Juha Koskimaki and colleagues at the University of Tampere in Finland report the findings in the American Journal of Medicine. The study included 989 men who were between the ages of 55 and 75 at the outset.

Overall, those who said they had sex less than once per week were twice as likely to develop ED over the next five years as men who had sex at least once a week. Furthermore, compared with men who had sex three or more times per week, their ED risk was increased nearly four-fold.

A number of factors contribute to ED development, many of which could also affect a man’s sexually activity — such as age, diabetes and heart disease. However, after taking account of those factors, sexual activity itself remained linked to ED risk, Koskimaki’s team found.

It may be a matter of “use it or lose it,” according to the researchers. Just as exercise boosts physical fitness, they note, regular sexual activity may help a man preserve his erectile function.

ED occurs when there are problems with blood flow to the penis. Regular sexual activity, Koskimaki’s team writes, may help maintain healthy blood vessel function in the erectile tissue.

Sex Tips for older men

Getting older changes sexual function and desire. Senior sex isn’t the same as it was in your 20s — but it can still be satisfying. Contrary to common myths about sexuality and older adults, sex is not just for the young. Many seniors continue to enjoy their sexuality into their 80s and beyond.

A healthy sex life is not only fulfilling, but it’s also good for other aspects of your life, including your physical health and self-esteem. Adapting to your changing body can help you maintain a healthy and satisfying sex life. But you may have to make a few changes, such as allowing yourself more time to become aroused and talking more openly with your partner.

What changes as men get older?

As men age, testosterone levels decline and changes in desire and sexual function are common. These changes can include:
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It’s a common complaint of some postmenopausal women - painful sexual intercourse. The condition is medically known as dyspareunia and it’s no fun at all.

Doctors often attribute the problem to declining estrogen levels, which can lead to changes in the genital tract, including vaginal atrophy. The usual treatment is hormone replacement therapy, which can be applied directly to the sensitive region or taken in pill form.

But McGill University researchers have found that a significant number of women - up to 20 per cent - don’t respond to hormone therapy and they are seldom offered other treatments.

“Pain during intercourse can affect your relations with your partner, your image as a woman, your mood, all sorts of things,” said Irv Binik, director of the sex and couple therapy service at McGill University Health Centre in Montreal.

He said it is a mistake for doctors to assume all cases of painful intercourse after menopause are linked to the reduction in female hormone levels that occur with normal aging.

“It just isn’t that simple for a lot of women,” said Dr. Binik, senior author of the study that will be published in the journal Pain Research and Management.

Lots of other factors, including problems with pelvic floor muscles, dermatological conditions and infections, can make sex an unpleasant experience, according to Alina Kao, a PhD student who led the research project.

That also means there are a variety of different treatments - from physical therapy to traditional pain management - depending on the underlying cause.

However, Dr. Binik cautioned that these options are not usually quick fixes. “All of them take time and effort,” he said. “It’s not like popping a pill or putting on a cream.”

Myths About Postmenopausal Pain During Sex Shattered

Using hormone replacement therapy to alleviate painful sexual intercourse in post-menopausal women is not effective for a significant proportion of sufferers, according to a review study by McGill doctoral candidate Alina Kao, a student of Professor Irv Binik’s Laboratory for the Biopsychosocial Study of Sexuality. “This often-prescribed hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has mainly been studied in women who suffer from vaginal atrophy, a condition caused by declining estrogen levels, and changes in the genitals,” Kao said.

Although postmenopausal dyspareunia is a widespread problem which seriously affects a woman’s quality of life, Kao’s research team found that little is known about women’s primary complaint: pain.

Traditionally, postmenopausal dyspareunia has been attributed to declining estrogen levels and the changes this decline causes in the genital tract. Postmenopausal women have been prescribed hormonal replacement therapy to alleviate this problem.

Roughly one in three postmenopausal women suffer from dyspareunia, Kao said.

In questioning the effectiveness of HRT, Kao’s team found the therapy is not effective for a substantial proportion (10 – 27 per cent) of women. There may also be factors other than declining estrogen involved and these should be considered in future studies, the researchers concluded.

Although the use of a lubricant does help to decrease friction during intercourse, it generally does not alleviate the pain of dyspareunia, Kao said. This is likely because pain is often caused by factors other than lack of lubrication.

“In looking at the evidence, it seems there are numerous types of conditions that cause pain during intercourse in postmenopausal women, such as infections, dermatological conditions, problems with the pelvic floor muscles and chronic vulvar pain syndromes, to name a few,” Kao said. “However, these conditions are being overlooked by most treatment guidelines and healthcare providers,” she said. “Women shouldn’t have to ‘live with their pain;’ they deserve appropriate treatment geared to the causes of their individual pain conditions.”

Kao and her research team are conducting a multidisciplinary investigation, based on the emerging findings of this review, to classify the different factors associated with pain during intercourse in postmenopausal women. Women who take part in this research receive comprehensive medical and psychosocial evaluations of the causes and effect of their dyspareunia, as well as individualized treatment recommendations and referrals.

How Does Menopause Affect Sex Drive?

The loss of estrogen following menopause can lead to changes in a woman’s sexual drive and functioning. Menopausal and postmenopausal women may notice that they are not as easily aroused, and may be less sensitive to touching and stroking — which can result in decreased interest in sex.

In addition, lower levels of estrogen can cause a decrease in blood supply to the vagina. This decreased blood flow can affect vaginal lubrication, causing the vagina to be too dry for comfortable intercourse.

A lower estrogen level is not the only culprit behind a decreased libido; there are numerous other factors that may influence a woman’s interest in sexual activity during menopause and after. These include:
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It’s because some fear, anxiety or inhibition has worked its way into her brain, halting all action. If her comfort zone is threatened, she’ll no longer be in the mood.

Here are some of the major issues haunting her during sex play, plus ways to remedy the situation.

1. He’s expecting her to perform like a porn star.

She may be worried about having to perform a sexual act she’s not comfortable with, or maybe she fears he’d rather be watching a porn star than having sex with her.

The fix: Avoid putting pressure on your partner to act out what you’ve seen in porn flicks. By suggesting a sex act, don’t let her know that you saw it in an X-rated movie — frame it as your idea and something with the potential to turn both of you on. Also, use this as an opportunity to explore what she might want to do. She may surprise you.

2. Somebody’s response time is going to be “off.”

When it comes to sexual response, she could be worried that things are going to go one of two ways: (1) her partner is off to the races as soon as they hit the sheets; or (2) her arousal and orgasmic abilities will feel delayed. She starts to fret over her lover not lasting long enough for her excitement to match his. Or she’s worried that she’s going to take forever to climax, if she does at all.

The fix: If you tend to be a rabbit, don’t turn your sex session into a race, rushing through the entire experience.

Ask her to guide you in matching her pace, having her control the rhythm and speed. To amp up her arousal level, pay special attention to her clitoris, maintaining such stimulation throughout foreplay and intercourse.

Above all, make sure you’re communicating. Don’t get caught up in your experience, make it a shared one. Ask about her needs, as this will also give her a sense of control over the situation and give her emotional reassurances about her partnership.

3. He’ll notice her cellulite or stretch marks.

Puckered, dimpled skin or scar tissue can make anybody feel conscious. But as a lover is kissing, massaging, or orally pleasuring your nether regions, thus coming face to face with these natural “imperfections,” they can feel magnified. Those unable to get past their negative body image shut down sexually.

The fix: Let her know that you adore her for more than her physical appearance. Give her compliments regularly both in and out of the boudoir, highlighting what makes her sexy. Encourage physical activities the two of you can pursue together, the payoff being that she’ll slowly feel better about her form and more confident in her own, cellulite-splattered skin.

4. She’ll look “fat” in her lingerie.

While barely-there styles can tap our inner vixen, they typically require a body in peak condition. Lingerie highlights every roll, lump, and flabby area, which reminds her that she’s no Heidi Klum. This can kill her sexy siren nature.

The fix: She needs to explore undergarments that flatter her form. Spanx lingerie and hosiery, for example, appeal to women looking to slim their midsection or firmly support their hips and thighs while donning panties, camisoles or full-body slips.

Until such a purchase is made, turn off the lights or adjust them for mood lighting to invite lingerie loving. Yes, this kind of defeats the purpose of intimate apparel, but she won’t feel nearly as self-conscious. She can still feel sexy in sporting lingerie, with both of you relishing the feel of the fabrics gracing her body.

5. She’ll get pregnant.

Research conducted by the Guttmacher Institute this past summer found that, given the current economic situation, nearly half of women surveyed wanted to delay pregnancy or limit the number of children they have. Concerns over the economy also had approximately half of these women, ages 18-39, focusing more on effective contraceptive use.

Unfortunately, for one-quarter of these women, tough times have meant a harder time paying for their contraceptive methods. Almost one in four women has postponed a gynecologic or birth control visit in the last year to save money.

The fix: Make sure you’ve got an ample condom supply. Offer to help pay for her gynecological care and contraceptives. Pregnancy prevention should always be a team effort.

6. She’ll get an STD.

Women are more susceptible to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) than men. For example, with HIV, a female is twice as likely to be infected by a male as vice versa. This is in large part because our reproductive organs leave us more exposed to an STD than do men’s. Complicating matters is the fact that it’s also harder for women to notice symptoms, since infections are often asymptomatic.

The fix: If lovers aren’t abstaining from sex involving the transmission of fluids or skin-on-skin contact, they should use protection to minimize the risk of infection. Women, especially, need to be proactive in protecting themselves, since a recent World Health Organization report found that young women make up more than 60 percent of 15 to 24-year-olds who have HIV/AIDS.

What Causes Fear Of Sex?

Sex is everywhere. Sex sells, right? You see sex on television, in movies and you hear it in music. It’s on billboards, in newspaper ads and all over the Internet. So logically, as a society, we don’t seem very afraid of sex, do we? Surprisingly enough, many people still have a deep seated, irrational fear of sex, masturbation and other sex related things. Why is this fear irrational, and what causes it? What can you do about it?
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Men and women in their early seventies are having sex more often and enjoying it more than their counterparts three and four decades ago, according to a Swedish study published Wednesday.

Septuagenarian women in particular expressed satisfaction with their amorous activities, suggesting they may have benefited more from the loosening of sexual mores.

Despite an array of literature on the sexual habits and attitudes of younger adults, very little is known about what happens between the sheets for healthy men and women aged 70 and older.

Previous research has tended to focus on what goes wrong, sexually speaking, which has created the impression that the sex life of older people is dismal or non-existent.

Not true, according to Nils Beckman, a doctoral candidate at the University of Gothenburg.

“Our study shows that most elderly people consider sexual activity and associated feelings a natural part of later life,” he said.

Compared to the same age group in 1971, nearly twice as many married female septegenarians reported having sexual intercourse in 2001, and a sharply higher percentage said they “always or usually” experienced orgasms, noted the study.

And while more than 10 percent of women interviewed 40 years ago had never had sex at all, by century’s end that percentage had dropped to 0.4 percent — a single respondent out of 229.

For men, too, sex at 70 on the cusp of the 21st century seemed to bring more pleasure than for older men of a previous generation.

But the news was not totally good: more men in 2001 also complained of low or no satisfaction, perhaps reflecting a cultural shift in openness in talking about sex.

And while the number of men reporting erectile dysfunction dropped, a higher number of men said they had ejaculation problems. The rate of premature ejaculation did not change.

Beckman and colleagues studied attitudes towards sex in later life based on interviews with Swedish 70-year-olds at four different points in time: 1972, 1977, 1993 and 2001.

The study is published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

“The implication is that a generation’s sexual change — perhaps linked to the sexual revolution of 1965-75 — is evident in this latest cohort of 70-year-olds,” Peggy Kleinplatz, a professor at the University of Ottawa in Canada, wrote in a commentary, also in the BMJ.

More over 70s ‘are enjoying sex’

More couples over 70 are having sex - and finding it satisfying - than in previous generations, a British Medical Journal survey suggests.

Swedish researchers asked 1,500 older people across a 30-year period about their sex lives.

The number of people saying they had sex increased - as did the number of women reporting having orgasms.

A UK expert said the older people of today grew up in more sexually liberated eras.
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He-he. That would be rather funny if it was not a serious question. 11% of British people surveyed by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) still believe a woman can’t get pregnant if she has sex standing up, according to a recent poll.

The DCSF commissioned the survey of 2,000 people aged 16-50 to highlight misconceptions around safe sex.

Almost 20% per cent thought having sex while a woman is on her period or if the man withdraws before ejaculation means a woman can’t get pregnant.

The survey found that 26% of couples never discuss contraception and 31% never talk about sexual health - such as sexually-transmitted infections - with their partner.

62% of British people admitted to turning discussions on the topic of sex into a joke.

Dr.Pam Spurr, a sex and relationships expert, said: “In spite of our love of talking about sex and relationships, the survey suggests it’s our lack of knowledge that is causing confusion.

“I’m encouraged to see that we’ve overcome a long-held aversion to talking about sex, but we’ve still got some way to go before we swap jokes and banter for the open, honest and informed conversations about sexual health and relationships that most of us would like.”

Lisa Power, head of policy at the Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “We’re delighted that the Government has acknowledged the importance of both better education and peer influence in the way people make decisions about their sexual health.

“Ignorance is just as transmissible as chlamydia or HIV and we need to take firm steps to prevent all of those things from spreading.”

Sex standing up prevents pregnancy, say British

More than one in 10 British people do not realise that a woman can still get pregnant if she has sex standing up, according to a poll.

Nearly one in five - 19 per cent - are also unaware that a woman can get pregnant during her period, or if the man withdraws before ejaculation, according to the government-commissioned survey.
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Vampires aside, it’s really just a simple love story.

The reason teenage girls have fallen hard for the Twilight book and film series has to do with its portrayal of a traditional, romantic relationship, new research from the University of Missouri shows.

In the series, vampire Edward Cullen doesn’t want to harm or bite his teen love interest Bella Swan, which means they can’t have sex.

“With teens, we actually found that they appreciated the messages of abstinence,” said Melissa Click, an assistant professor of communication who surveyed 4,000 Twilight fans, aged 11 to 70.

Click and her co-authors’ research primarily addresses the reasons behind the teenage-madness for Twilight, a four-book series with two films so far.

The newest movie, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, opens Friday, and has already busted Cineplex Theatres’ records by selling $1.5 million in advance tickets across Canada. The first film, Twilight, grossed more than $190 million in North American revenues.

The Missouri research found that many teen girls — who make up the core of Twilight’s audience, along with a few moms — are drawn to the story about love beyond the physical.

“The media environment is saturated with teens in sexual relationships,” said Click, who plans to publish the findings next spring in a collaborative book Bitten by Twilight: Youth culture, media and the vampire franchise.

“(Twilight) does provide something different for girls. I’ve had girls say to me, ‘I’m going to wait for my Edward.’ And they think that’s really cool.”

Her colleague, Jennifer Stevens Aubrey, called the series a “backlash to the ‘hooking-up’ culture.”

Edward represents an anomaly in the minds of many teenage girls. He’s romantic, protective, and most important, cares deeply for who Bella is, and not just what she looks like.

And for 18-year-old Twilight fan France-Renee Miron, that’s a good thing.

“Most boys now around our age, all they want is to get you in bed. They don’t care about the romance part,” said Miron, who is from Green Valley, Ont.

“In the book and in the film, (Edward) doesn’t want to have sex. It’s really different.”

Miron’s friend, Valerie Lefebvre, 18, said she found solace in the book’s messages about abstinence.

“By reading the book we find out we’re not the only ones who could have a good relationship without being sexually active,” said Lefebvre.

Click said that many girls interviewed felt a sense of relief that Bella and Edward couldn’t yet have sex.

“They liked that it was the man putting the brakes on sexual activity. For them it probably highlighted the development of the relationship — the romantic relationship — between the two, instead of the sexual relationship,” said Click.

The study is comprised of online surveys and in-person focus groups. Researchers found 70 teens for the focus groups at a fan convention held in Dallas last summer. About one-third of those surveyed were teens.

Despite an increasingly sexualized youth culture, the desire for romance among teenage girls has remained, said Mike Farrell, a partner at Toronto youth research firm Youthography.

“There are some fundamental things that haven’t changed that much. And one of those, especially with girls, is the focus on a search for meaningful love that is hopeful, passionate, real,” he said.

According to Youthography research, only a quarter of young teenage girls were interested in sex, while more than half said they thought about marriage and having children.

In a 2008 Canada-wide study, Youthography surveyed around 500 teen girls ages 14 to 18 about 50 different “values” affecting them, from current events to sex. They’ve been tracking values for research for the past nine years as part of Youthography’s quarterly study called, Ping.

But there can be a danger to Twilight’s traditional romance story too, say experts.

University of Victoria political science professor Janni Aragon said that the books, while she enjoys them, enforce “good old gender stereotypes,” such as Bella being clumsy and Edward acting condescending and all-knowing.

There’s also the message that Edward doesn’t trust himself around Bella.

“Woven within these pages is also that boys get to a certain point in which you can’t tell them ‘no,’ or they can’t control themselves. And I’m not sure an 11-, 12-, 13-year-old, maybe even a 15- to 18-year-old, understands that.”

Xania Khan, editor-in-chief of Toronto’s Vervegirl teen magazine, said that the hysteria surrounding Twilight may blind teens to real-world relationships.

“Some girls have a hard time distinguishing fact and fiction,” said Khan. “They might look for something that’s not real.”

That won’t be a problem for Miron and Lefebvre’s friend, Embrun, Ont.’s Marjolaine Bourdeau, also 18. While she said she’s a fan of the books, Bourdeau won’t be waiting on a perfect vampire boyfriend anytime soon.

“I know that’s not possible,” she said. “Girls who haven’t been in a real relationship. They don’t know what relationships are like.”

Why We’re Obsessed With Vampire Sex

You can’t escape them.

Fangs are everywhere these days, hoping you’ll also want a taste of the bloodthirsty fervor that has gripped the nation.

Between the best-selling books-turned-movies “Twilight Saga,” HBO’s wildly popular “True Blood,” and the CW’s “The Vampire Diaries,” vampires have become a serious pop culture obsession.
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