How Sex Drive Changes As You Age

There’s no specific age for when people stop being sexually active, although age and sex drive are closely related.

There are differences between how the reproductive organs change in people assigned male or female at birth, and the life cycle stages at which libido (sexual desire) drops off.

Your personal sexual appetite is determined primarily by brain function, hormones, and beliefs and attitudes about sex. It can change because of your mental state, stress levels, overall health, and long-term hormonal changes. It can shift based on your mental state, stress levels, and hormones.1

This article looks at how your libido is predicted to change in each decade of life, whether it’s sex in your 20s or sex in your 70s. It also offers ideas about how you can increase your sex drive at any age.

A Note on Gender and Sex Terminology

Verywell Health acknowledges that sex and gender are related concepts, but they are not the same.

Sex refers to biology: chromosomal makeup, hormones, and anatomy. People are most often assigned male or female at birth based on their external anatomy; some people do not fit into that sex binary and are intersex.

Gender describes a person’s internal sense of self as a woman, man, nonbinary person, or another gender, and the associated social and cultural ideas about roles, behaviors, expressions, and characteristics.

Research studies sometimes don’t use the terminology in this way. For example, terms that describe gender (“woman,” “man”) may be used when terms for sex (“female,” “male”) are more appropriate.

To reflect our sources accurately, this article uses terms like “female,” “male,” “woman,” and “man” as the sources use them.

Age and Sex Drive

The rise and fall of sex drive with age is different for different sexes.

Hormones, hormonal birth control, pregnancy, and menopause all play a role in female libido. This causes a lot of fluctuation in people with vaginas.

For a person with a penis, the primary sex-drive influences include testosterone levels and overall health. While testosterone is thought of as a male hormone, females have it, too.

This means that there are consistent patterns in sexual and reproductive health across a lifetime for both males and females, though each person is different.

20s

Regardless of biological sex, testosterone levels are high in your 20s. Sex drive generally is, as well.

In males, testosterone levels peak at 18. They start a slow decline after that.2 But they’re generally high enough through this decade to support a healthy libido.

Female fertility starts to decline in the late 20s even as sexual desire increases, though experts don’t fully understand why. On the other hand, many females report lower sex drive in their 20s and 30s, often attributed to using hormonal birth control and/or medication to treat depression.

30s

Testosterone continues to decline through the 30s. In males, some studies suggest the decline may speed up to about 1% per year until about age 40. The drop in libido may become more noticeable.2

For many females, this is when sex drive peaks. Sexual fantasies may increase. You may find yourself having more frequent sex and having it earlier in your relationships.

This may be a function of the biological clock and reproductive priorities. Fertility begins to decline by age 30, and the decline accelerates by your mid-30s.

40s

Both males and females experience physical changes in their 40s that have impacts on sexual behavior.

In males, their erections become less rigid and they start desiring sex less often.7 Erectile dysfunction (ED) starts becoming more prevalent.8 In general, the male refractory period (time after orgasm during which a person is not sexually responsive) lengthens with age.9

For females, perimenopause (the lead-up to menopause) typically starts somewhere in the 40s. That means declines in estrogen (female hormone) levels.

Lower estrogen can mean vaginal dryness, which can lead to painful intercourse. Testosterone tends to decline, too. This can all lead to a lower sex drive.

50s

In the 50s, both males and females report declines in sexual interest and in how much sex they have. Many of the changes are physical, like ED in males. It affects half of all people with a penis between the ages of 50 and 59.11

Other health and lifestyle issues that emerge during your 50s can affect male sex drive and performance, too. They include:

Diabetes
High blood pressure
Obesity
Tobacco use
Prostate health

Females may experience reduced vaginal lubrication, fewer orgasms, and other changes due to age and menopause. They also may begin to feel the effects of underlying health conditions.

In their 50s, people may be taking medications that change their sex drive. For example, high blood pressure medications like Lopressor (metoprolol) or Lasix (furosemide) may contribute to ED in males. On the other hand, drugs like Vyleesi 410 may be used to boost libido in females.

Over 60

Sexual dysfunction, chronic illness, and the death of a partner all become more common after age 60. And they all contribute to a continued decline in sexual drive and activity.

However, that doesn’t mean you should expect to stop having sex as you get older. Research suggests that people in their 60s and beyond report active, fulfilling sex lives.

A Dutch study published in 2017 surveyed rates of sexual activity in older community-dwelling people.13 Nearly half of those with partners reported sexual activity in the past six months. Rates were far lower in those without partners.

Another study reported that up to 40% of women over 60 had low sex drive. Still, the women said sex was an important part of their lives.14

A 2020 study reported several factors that contribute to a declining libido after age 60. In addition to ED and menopause-related vaginal changes, they include:15

Fatigue
Pain
Stress
Body image concerns
While some consequences of aging are unavoidable, many of them can be medically managed.

Age 70 and Beyond

Both males and females report being sexually active in their 70s and 80s, and even into their 90s.16

Age-related changes like erectile dysfunction mean these sexual encounters may not be the same as they were in younger years, though. Older adults often report that they prefer adaptive styles of sex that go beyond penetration.

While sex continues to be important at this stage of life, people may face more health challenges, mobility issues, and physical barriers to sex. For example, a study of older people with sensory changes (hearing, sight, touch, smell, and taste) found they were less likely to be sexually active, though this didn’t affect the frequency or type of sexual activity among older adults who are sexually active.

With people living longer, it’s not unusual for older people to use dating websites or use smartphone apps to seek out new partners, even when marriage has ended through death or divorce.19 Sex with new partners can raise the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that you may not have thought about before, making it another good reason to talk to your healthcare provider about sex.

How to Increase Sex Drive

While sex drive naturally changes over time, that doesn’t mean you have to live with a lower libido. You can do several things to boost it.

First, talk to your healthcare provider to see if it’s a natural change or diagnosable sexual dysfunction. Depending on what they find, they may prescribe medication or help you find ways to correct it.

If it is just an age-related drop, you may have success with lifestyle changes.