While the frequency or ability to perform sexually will generally decline modestly as seniors experience the normal physiological changes that accompany aging, reports show that the majority of men and women between the ages of 50 and 80 are still enthusiastic about sex and intimacy. Dr. Bortz, a professor at Stanford Medical School, is past president of the American Geriatrics Society and co-chair of the American Medical Association's Task Force on Aging. A Duke University study shows that some 20 percent of people over 65 have sex lives that are better than ever before, he adds. And although not everyone wants or needs an active sex life, many people continue to be sexual all their lives. People that have sex live longer.
Married people live longer.
People need people. The more intimate the connection, the more powerful the effects. Such judgmental attitudes prevent many older people from moving in with each other or even having their partner over, according to Dr. Jack Parlow, a retired clinical psychologist in Toronto. The topic may well lose some of its taboo status, however, as the baby boom generation enters its later years. With their increased numbers and a marked increase in life expectancy, older adults are now the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population.