— Physical pleasure, emotional satisfaction, and team problem-solving may help boost brain health as we age, according to a new study.
By Sarah Prager
A new study has found that sex in older age can have benefits for cognitive function, but for different age groups, quality or quantity matters more.
The study, published in The Journal for Sex Research in July 2023, is among the first nationally representative, population-based studies to examine how the sexual lives of older Americans are related to their later cognitive function.
According to study coauthor Shannon Shen, PhD, while there has been plenty of research on cognitive decline in older adults, there was very little that considers how the sexual aspect of social relationships may be beneficial for cognitive functioning.
“We find that for older-old adults, or those that are 75 to 90 years old, having very frequent sex, at once a week or more, is related to better cognitive function five years later compared to those who had no sex,” Dr. Shen says.
“But for the younger-old adults, those ages 62 to 74 in the study, sexual frequency was not influential. Instead, having better sexual quality — both more physical pleasure and emotional satisfaction — was related to their better cognitive function five years later.”
Benefits of Frequent Sex in Later Life Differ for Men and Women
To determine the connection between sex and brain health, the study analyzed cognitive assessments and survey responses from 1,683 adults. The study did not track whether any participants were transgender, while 1.6 percent of the respondents were gay, lesbian, or bisexual.
Sex was defined as any “mutually voluntary activity with another person that involves sexual contact, whether or not intercourse or orgasm occurs.” The study only analyzed partnered sex, not masturbation.
The study found that men who had sex once a week or more had lower odds of experiencing cognitive impairment five years later than men who had no sex in the last year. Sexual frequency was not related to cognitive status among women, though.
What Are the Health Benefits of Having Sex?
Linda Waite, PhD, a professor of sociology at the University of Chicago who has also studied the impact of sex on cognitive health in older age, says that sex has several physical benefits as we age, including stretching, increasing blood flow, and the releasing of hormones and endorphins from orgasm. But social elements are also key.
“When you’re involved in a joint project, then you have to use the social part of your brain,” Dr. Waite says. “You have to say, ‘Oops, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to nudge you,’ or ‘That doesn’t feel so great for me, can we move around,’ or ‘My hands are cold,’ or ‘Let’s get under the covers,’ or ‘Do that again.’”
Patterned social interactions with a long-standing close partner can also help with brain health, Waite says.
“If somebody’s having a little trouble with the next step, the other person can step in, and give a little help. So because there’s two of you, and even if you’re having trouble, you’re probably not having exactly the same kind of trouble,” Waite says. “You know, ‘Oh, remember, now we do that?’”
Should You Be Having More Sex?
Shen says that while the study does find that frequency of sex and quality of sex may help improve cognitive functioning in older age, she wouldn’t say it’s necessarily beneficial for everyone to have more sex.
“Our results are really highlighting different stages of later life being important in the benefits one sees from their sexual relationship,” Shen says. “For those younger-old adults, the quality they have with their sexual partner is important for their later cognitive functioning, not just having more sex. Even adults that have low libido can still enjoy high sexual quality, and the broad definition of sex in the study could mean that it’s not just intercourse that needs to occur for us to see these cognitive benefits.”
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