Active sex life in seniors secret to happiness

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDNov 21 2011

According to researchers the secret to happy aging and retirement is regular good sex.

In the study of 238 married people aged 65 or older in the US. the researchers found that almost 80 per cent who had sex more than once a month were ‘very happy’ with their life in general. This compared with just 59 per cent who reported no sexual activity in the past 12 months and 40 per cent who had been celibate for over a year, according to the findings presented Sunday (Nov. 20) at the Gerontological Society of America's annual meeting in Boston, U.S.

According to Professor Adrienne Jackson, of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, “This study will help open the lines of communication and spark interest in developing ‘outside the box’ approaches to dealing with resolvable issues that limit or prevent older adults from participating in sexual activity… Highlighting the relationship between sex and happiness will help us in developing and organizing specific sexual health interventions for this growing segment of our population.”

In the study the association between general and marital happiness and frequency of sexual activity remained after accounting for factors such as age, gender, health status and satisfaction with financial situation. Another study by the University of California San Diego looked at women between the ages of 60 and 89 found those who enjoyed an active sex life had a better quality of life and were happier.

However, on the flip side, the Mail revealed last Saturday that Britain is seeing a boom in ‘silver separations’ as the latest figures, for 2009, reveal that more than 11,500 over-60s were granted a divorce. This is up by 4 per cent in two years and pensioners are the only age group where the divorce rate is rising. More men than women over 60 were divorced, reflecting the fact that husbands are usually older than their wives.  Among the male over 60s age group, the divorce rate rose by 3 per cent between 2007 and 2009 but among the female over 60s, it soared by 6 per cent.