yes, women enjoy sex — even into middle age | healthing.ca

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yes, women enjoy sex — even into middle age

"about a quarter of women rate sex as very important, regardless of their age."

by emma jones

published sep 30, 2020

last updated feb 21, 2025

3 minute read

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3 minute read

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yes, women enjoy sex - even into middle age

communication also plays a key role in sexual satisfaction as we age. ridofranz / getty

contrary to popular belief, many women continue to want and enjoy sex throughout their middle age, according to an abstract presented at the annual meeting of the north american menopause society.

“about a quarter of women rate sex as very important, regardless of their age,” dr. holly thomas, assistant professor of medicine at the university of pittsburgh and lead author of the study, told cnn. “the study showed substantial numbers of women still highly value sex, even as they get older, and it’s not abnormal.”

the study looked at survey data collected from 3,200 women via the u.s. study of women’s health across the nation (swan), a multi-location examination of the health of women during their middle years.

thomas and her research team found that about a quarter of women surveyed (27 per cent) said that sex is highly important throughout their 40s to 60s. forty-eight per cent of respondents reported that interest in sex began to wane through their 50s and 60s, while only 28 per cent of respondents said they did not value sex, or valued sex less, starting in their 40s.

the researchers found that women who valued sex more were also more likely to be highly educated, had expressed better sexual satisfaction when younger, and showed fewer or less severe signs of depression.

“women who were having more satisfying sex when they were in their 40s were more likely to continue to highly value sex as they got older,” said thomas.

sex at any age

a continued desire for sexual intimacy should come as no surprise to canadians, as research by the canadian sex information and education council of canada (sieccan) released in 2016 showed that not only do adults continue to have sex as they age, they also become more adventurous in the bedroom.

the 2016 sexual health at midlife study, conducted by sieccan and funded by trojan, asked 2,400 respondents between the ages of 40 to 59 about their sex life and attitudes towards pleasure.

approximately 65 per cent rated their last sexual encounter as “very pleasurable”, and more than 50 per cent rated their sexual health as “excellent” or “very good”. sixty-three per cent of survey respondents also said they were more interested in trying new things in the bedroom than they were a decade ago.

“there is a public perception that as we age, sex becomes less important, less enjoyable and less frequent,” robin milhausen, a sexuality and relationship researcher at the university of guelph and a lead researcher in this study, said in a news release about the findings. “the study findings indicate that most midlife canadians are indeed leading satisfying and active sexual lives…the future looks bright for midlife canadian relationships.”

seventy-one per cent of respondents also reported having at least one sexual encounter in the six months before the survey. of those respondents who were single and sexually active, 55 per cent of men and 32 per cent of women had two or more partners in the year leading up to the survey.

this study also pushed back on another common trope: marriage and long-term relationships kills sexual activity. of these respondents, about 40 per cent of married or co-habiting respondents reported having sex once or more per week, compared to thirty per cent of singles.

better communication leads to better sex

one of the key ingredients to a satisfying sex life, in both the swan and the sieccan studies, was communication.

“if women are able to speak up with their partner and make sure that they’re having sex that’s fulfilling and pleasurable to them, then they’re more likely to rate it as highly important as they get older,” said thomas.

in the sieccan study, both men and women who reported they were very sexually satisfied were also much more likely to report they frequently communicated with their partners about what they like and dislike during sexual intercourse.

“communication is key to a satisfying and pleasurable sex life and this data strongly backs that up,” says milhausen.

emjones@postmedia.com | @jonesyjourn

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