MALE SEXUALITY AND AGING: PHYSICAL CHANGES
Erections occur less spontaneously and require more time and effort to develop. In contrast to the twenties, when just seeing an attractive woman would be enough, after fifty a man is more likely to need direct physical stimulation of his penis to become erect. Older men also tend to lose their erections more easily and may get a very full erection only right before they ejaculate. In spite of these changes, penetration is normally not a problem. Impotence is not inevitable to growing old.
The frequency of orgasm lessens. Masters and Johnson found that most men over sixty need only one or two climaxes per week. This does not mean older men should restrict themselves to once-a-week sex; just that a man who has sex every day or two should not feel upset if he can't always ejaculate. One result of this decreased pressure is a plus from the woman's point of view. Because a man can stay erect longer without having to ejaculate, lovemaking can last longer. And some (but not all) men find that by middle age any youthful problems with premature ejaculation improve.
Ejaculations are less explosive or intense. Not only does the force of the orgasm lessen, the feeling of "ejaculatory inevitability" is lost; older men no longer have the sensation of having to ejaculate several seconds before orgasm.
The ability to have sex right after reaching orgasm is lost. Decade by decade, the "refractory period"—the time after orgasm before another erection is possible—gradually lengthens. Each man's refractory period is different, and its length also varies depending on how intensely arousing a particular sexual encounter is. On average, though, men in their sixties have to wait a day after having a climax to get fully erect again.
These losses can worry people inordinately. After a few instances of failure a man may over-generalize, jumping to the conclusion that his days as a lover are over. His partner too can overreact: "He must no longer find me sexually appealing." A self-fulfilling prophecy can be set up. Afraid the problem may recur, a couple is tense the next time they have sex. Their anxiety makes a repeat performance more likely. What started as a random incident becomes a fact of life.
How traumatic are performance problems for most elderly men? If we accept what the men in the Baltimore study say, not very traumatic. Among the roughly two-fifths of the men in this study aged sixty-five to seventy-nine who were less than fully potent, only 10 percent had gotten medical help for their condition. Most accepted their problem with relative calm. The researchers hypothesized that the lives of these men were so fulfilling in other ways that sexual performance was not important to their self-esteem.
If you are older and upset by occasional potency problems, Saul Rosenthal, publisher of an excellent newsletter entitled Sex over Forty, suggests putting what has happened into perspective. Just because a man of sixty cannot run as fast as he did at twenty does not mean his running days are over. Like any bodily capacity, sexual performance should be expected to change somewhat as the years advance. Changes due to an impersonal process, aging, should not be taken as a personal affront. One instance of "failure" should not be seen as the beginning of the end. After a problem occurs, do not give up having sex, hoping things will improve next month. As with any exercise, the key to staying in shape sexually is to keep active.
There are strong indirect indications that "use it or lose it" are particularly apt words in the sexual realm: the research consistently shows that the best predictor of continued sexual activity in later life is a passionate sex life earlier on. For instance, the most sexually active older men in the Baltimore study did not differ from the other volunteers in education, age at marriage, number of years married, or even marital happiness. They did differ in this way: they had always been very sexually interested and active. A lifelong passion for sex and reasonable good health set the stage for a fulfilling sex life in our later years. But there is another ingredient too - having the flexibility to adjust your lovemaking to aging.
*59/159/5*
GENERAL HEALTH
- The expiry date is mentioned on each blister. It is different for different batches. The shelf life is 2 years from the date of manufacture and would differ from batch to batch depending on when they were manufactured.
- Read the product information leaflet provided with the product before using it.
Information that this website contains are general information only and are not intended as a replacement for advise and recommendations made by your medical practitioner. We do not make any warranty or represent the accuracy of information supplied herein. We reserve the right to omit portions, correct errors or withdraw an entire page on this website as we see fit without prior notice.
Information about a certain drug, its uses, recommended dosages and side effects do not serve as a substitute to a prescription or information relayed to you by a licensed medical practitioner. These materials are just a general overview about the product. Likewise, we do not endorse use of any drug found on this site.
Use of this site is at your sole risk. We disclaim responsibility for reliance you place upon the information that we posted on this site. Always seek medical advice from a professional healthcare and discuss thoroughly your intention of using any of the medicine that is offered in this website.
|
