Sleep often supercedes sex in importance. Having children also takes the spontaneity out of lovemaking. Financial concerns, heavy workloads, career choices, and other stressful factors of life may push sex to the sidelines. No couple is exempt from this natural dip in sexual fervor. What often separates the contented from the miserable is general relationship satisfaction.
Sexual satisfaction is a mirror of the relationship and the individual's happiness.
A communicative, generally content couple who effectively manages the stress of parenting, working, and coping may find that sex continues to be a wonderful, though an ever-changing experience. Two people who have cut the lines of communication, feel the omnipresent stress of their mortgage, and are sorting through their teenage daughter's rebellious tendencies may lose their taste for intimate lovemaking. And then there are those who may feel quite happy in their relationship, but may crave the sexual excitement of the past. As love ages and relationships progress, the focus is taken off of the self. Infatuation sex is very self-gratifying, whereas old shoe sex is what love is made of.