By 
Kristopher Bunting, MD
January 27, 2023
This article is a repost which originally appeared on healthnews.
Edited for content. The opinions expressed in this article may not reflect the opinions of this site’s editors, staff or members.
You may have heard the commonly repeated adage that men reach their sexual peak in their late teens and women reach their sexual peak in their 30s.
Key takeaways:
‧ Men have more sex, more orgasms, and more sex drive in their teens and twenties, but not necessarily more satisfying sex.
‧ Testosterone levels and sexual function decrease with age, but sexual satisfaction can increase.
‧ Sexual wisdom comes from experience. Getting older can lead to better sex.
It turns out that this is not necessarily true. If you think that you are past your sexual prime just because you are getting older, you may find that better sex is still on the horizon.
What is a sexual peak?
What defines a person’s sexual peak? Is it having more orgasms, more sex, or more satisfying sex?
Dr. Alfred Kinsey published Sexual Behavior in the Human Male in 1948, the first scientific study of sexual activity in humans. The claim that men reach their sexual peak in their teens is based on the finding that men had more orgasms in their teen years than in any other age range. However, this includes both sexual intercourse and masturbation and says nothing at all about how often young men have sex or their sexual satisfaction.
When it comes to sexual activity, men tend to have the most sex when they are in their 20s. As men grow older, sexual desire and sex drive decrease while sexual problems increase, leading to less frequent sexual activity. More sex is good, but is it better?
If sexual satisfaction is your benchmark for reaching the male sexual peak, then it may have less to do with hormones, sex drive, and quantity of sex and more to do with the quality of sex. Like a fine wine, sex can improve with age.
When do men have the best sex?
Both men and women tend to be more sexually active in their 20s, but they do not necessarily have a more satisfying sex life. Sex drive is highest in men in their 20s and decreases with age, along with testosterone levels. As sex drive decreases with age, erectile dysfunction and other types of sexual dysfunction increase. In other words, men tend to have less sex and more sexual problems as they age.
However, none of that matters when it comes to sexual satisfaction. Research has found that while sexual function decreases in men—especially after age 50—sexual satisfaction isn’t strictly determined by age. According to the same study, overall sexual satisfaction was highest in men in their 20s but is almost as high in their 40s and 50s. Sexual satisfaction only showed a significant decrease after age 60. One could say that men have several different sexual peaks: first in their 20s, then again in their 40s with a significant peak in their 50s.
Sexual satisfaction
Sexual satisfaction is affected by many different factors, including being in a committed relationship and living with your partner. Research shows that physical and mental health play important roles in determining sexual satisfaction, especially as people age. Overall health and sexual function tend to decline as we grow older, but that doesn’t mean that sex can’t be as good at age 50 as it was at age 30. Evidence suggests that it can be even better.
Research has also found that men have a better sex life than women as they get older. As men age, they are more sexually active, have better quality sex, and are more interested in sex than women of the same age.
Altogether this shows that sexual wisdom plays a significant role in sexual satisfaction. With age comes experience, such as communicating expectations and knowing how to deal with problems that arise during sex. Practice makes perfect; this is as true for sex as it is for playing tennis. Experience—and the lessons learned from experience—can make sex better and more satisfying.
Sex can get better as you get older
Your sexual peak is probably not when you think it is. Younger men have a higher sex drive, more sex, and more orgasms than older men, but that doesn’t mean that the quality of sex or sexual satisfaction is any better for younger men than older men.
Overall health, both physical and mental, plays a more important role in sexual satisfaction than age. Men experience more sexual dysfunction as they get older, but modern medicine has made it possible to keep having sex well into old age. Staying healthy can make your sex life better; this becomes increasingly important as you get older.
In the final analysis, men do not have a single sexual peak. Having a satisfying sex life is possible at just about any age. You may have less sex as you get older, but that sex can be better than ever. If you are under 50, your sexual peak may still lie ahead of you.
Resources:
1. APA PSYCNET. Sexual Behavior in the Human Male.
2. International Journal of Impotence Research. Sexual Functioning in a Population-Based Study of Men Aged 40-69 Years: The Good News.
3. BJU International. Assessment of Male Sexual Function by the Brief Sexual Function Inventory.
4. Deutsches Ärzteblatt International. Health, Sexual Activity, and Sexual Satisfaction.
5. BMJ. Sex, Health, and Years of Sexually Active Life Gained Due to Good Health: Evidence from Two US Population-Based Cross-Sectional Surveys of Ageing.
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