Introduction It’s something that most people prefer not to think about. That is until time flies and they, themselves, are approaching late adulthood. One day, hopefully, we’ll all be 65 years of age or older and wondering if we can still enjoy sexual experiences into late adulthood? This essay will delve into the personal issues of the people in late adulthood and their sex lives. It will also discuss some of the common problems that people in the late adulthood stage may encounter with sex and how they cope with those problems.
Discussion of Topic According to our textbook, Development Across the Lifespan, one eighth of the population in the United States is 65 years of age or older. Additionally, the fastest growing segment of the population are people who are 85 or older (Feldman, 2008). Clearly, over the last century, our life expectancy has increased! I am glad to report that as people grow older, they can indeed remain sexually active. Furthermore, the intimacy levels can be even higher than in previous years.This is because sexual problems and difficulties tend to occur more frequently with increasing age, and the best way to overcome any difficulties is through open communication with your partner, which can bring a couple closer together than ever before. Sexual difficulties come in all forms.
The common term, sexual dysfunction, is defined as problems that interfere with the initiation, consummation, or satisfaction with sex. They occur in both men and women and are independent of sexual orientation (Davidson, 2003).As men grow older, a decrease in their hormone levels of testosterone is common. This hormone is necessary for the normal growth and development of male sex organs, and the maintenance of secondary sex characteristics. Testosterone, for instance, is responsible for sperm development, a decrease in body fat, increasing and maintaining lean muscle, and increasing mental and physical energy- including sexual energy. Low levels of testosterone generally result in a low sex drive.
The size and firmness of the testicles may be reduced with a decrease of testosterone levels. Arousal response time also changes with age. During the beginning of sex, an older man may experience a delay in his erection, and when erect, the penis may not be as firm as when he was younger. Additionally, the orgasm experienced may not be as intense as before and the refractory period, or the time it takes a male to be able to orgasm again, can take much longer than in prior years. There are physical changes to older women, as well, that affect their sexual abilities.The most common change is menopause, a natural event that generally occurs between the ages of 45 and 55.
Menopause is a transition period in a woman's life when her ovaries stop producing eggs, her body produces less estrogen and progesterone, and menstruation stops. Due to a fall in the hormone levels of estrogen and progesterone, a range of symptoms and changes to the female reproductive system occur. For instance, menopause causes the vaginal walls become less elastic and thinner, the vagina becomes shorter, and lubricating secretions from the vagina become watery.As a result, these changes can often lead to a decreased interest in sex or sexual stimulation, and the vaginal dryness can cause painful sexual intercourse (PubMed Health, 2011).
Painful sexual intercourse is known as dyspareunia. A water based personal lubricant is strongly recommended in alleviating discomfort caused by vaginal dryness and friction. For both men and women, with increasing age comes an increase risk of illness. As humans grow older, their immune system generally weakens causing them to become more susceptible to infectious diseases (Feldman, 2008).
According to the AARP’s Beyond 50 Report (2009), more than 70 million Americans ages 50 and older –four out of five older adults– suffer from at least one chronic condition. For example, arthritis and hypertension become common in late adulthood. As you can imagine, illness commonly interferes with a person’s sexuality and often contributes to sexual difficulties. With illness comes treatment, and the medications prescribed to treat an illness often have side effects that make it more difficult to get “in the mood” or can even cause outright sexual dysfunctions.Take, for instance, diuretics and beta-blockers that are commonly prescribed for hypertension. Diuretics increase the kidneys' excretion of sodium and water, decreasing the volume of fluid in the bloodstream.
This ultimately leads to dehydration and general dryness that makes lubrication and orgasm more difficult. Beta Blockers are designed to slow the heart rate, but have impotence (erectile dysfunction) listed as a potential side effect. With men, the main sexual dysfunction experienced is erectile dysfunction. Some of the oral medications available at this time nclude sildenafil citrate (Viagra), vardenafil (Levitra) and tadalafil (Cialis).
Viagra was the first oral treatment approved to treat erectile dysfunction in the United States and was introduced in 1998. Prior to the success of oral medication, erectile dysfunction was difficult and often painful to treat. Treatment options included Hormone Replacement Therapy, prostaglandin tablets in the urethra, injections into the penis, a penile prosthesis, a penis pump or vascular reconstructive surgery. Now, fortunately, there are many ways the elderly can learn to cope with the new sexual circumstances that present themselves.
Today, sex education is now longer seen as a topic solely for adolescents. It’s understood that the human body undergoes many changes physically, cognitively and socially with aging. Also, with the popularity of new drugs like Viagra and Cialis, “sexual dysfunction” is a word heard nearly every night if you watch television, and can be easier for an older patient to discuss with their physician. Along with good mental and physical health, it has been found that regular sexual activity is a very important indicator of future sexual health.For instance, a person that has had regular sexual activity, including masturbation, is more likely to continue in the future than someone who participates infrequently.
This makes perfect sense if you consider that muscle atrophy will happen to any muscle group that is not used frequently. As our textbook notes, “use it or loose it” is an appropriate predictor of older peoples’ future sexual availability (Feldman, 2008). Open communication is the most important tool for successful sexuality in late adulthood.Understanding and respecting one another’s needs and concerns can help ease the process of aging. Without open communication, misunderstandings will eventually occur that can have negative consequences. For example, if one older adult is reluctant to initiate sexual relations with his/her partner because of arthritis pain, his partner might take this as a personal rejection if open communication was not available.
Only with open communication can someone to talk freely about his or her fears and concerns about their changing needs as an older adult. Relevant ChaptersThe chapter from Development Across the Life Span that was relevant to this research paper was Chapters 17. This chapter, titled “Physical and Cognitive Development in Late Adulthood”, was useful with setting the demographic stage on people in the late adulthood stage, and also the section titled “Sexuality in Old Age” was particularly insightful and full of excellent statistics. Summary In conclusion, many people are astounded at the idea of people remaining sexually active through their elder years.
But the truth is that human beings are never too old to enjoy a happy and healthy sex life.Having a good sex life in late adulthood is possible for both men and women, especially if he or she is a good communicator and willing to try new things. References AARP Public Policy Institute, (2009). Beyond 50. Chronic Care: A Call to Action for Health Reform (Volume 9). Web.
Mar. 2009. Available from: http://www. aarp.
org/health/medicare-insurance/info-03-2009/beyond_50_hcr. html Davidson, T. , (2003). Sexual dysfunctions. In M.
Harris & E. Thackerey (Eds. ) The Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders, (Vol. 2). (pp.
889-890) Detroit: Gale Retrieved April 29, 2011, from Gale Virtual Reference Library via Gale: ttp://go. galegroup. com. vlibdb. vcccd.
edu/ps/start. do? p=GVRL&u=venturac Feldman, R. S. , (2008). An Introduction to Lifespan Development, and Social and Personality Development in Infancy.
In L. Jewell & J. Marshall (Eds. ), Development Across the Life Span, (pp.
573, 587-588) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. , ISBN 0-13-601610-3. PubMed Health [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US); [updated 2011 Jan 1; cited 2011 Jan 6]. Available from: http://www.
ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmedhealth/
