Men in their 50s more satisfied with their sex lives

They may not be at the peak of their sexual prowess, but men in their fifties are happier with their sex lives than many younger men. Despite experiencing more sexual problems than someone 10 or 20 years younger, the average 50-year-old male was more sexually satisfied, researchers found.

Photo: Men in their 50s more satisfied with their sex lives

Their sexual contentment ratings are on a par with some men less than half their age. Researchers questioned 1,185 men aged between 20 and 79 about their sex life.

They found that men in their 50s were more satisfied with their sex lives than those in their 30s and 40s, who suffered greater work-related stress, reports Telegraph.

According to BBC News, the men, who responded to a postal questionnaire, were asked to rate their satisfaction with various aspects of their sex life on a scale of zero to four, with four representing good sexual function and no problems.

Men in their 20s recorded an average overall satisfaction level of 2.79, while the second highest level was among those in their 50s, who recorded an average of 2.77. Men in their 30s only reached 2.55, and men in their 40s averaged 2.72. After the age of 59, overall satisfaction fell significantly to 2.46 for men in their 60s and to 2.14 for men in their 70s.

However, when it came to sexual function, each of the scores moved steadily downwards toward zero as the respondents got older, indicating lower levels of function and more problems.

Rowan Pelling, former editor of the Erotic Review , said she was not at all surprised by the results and believed men became more "romantic" in their middle life. She said she had noticed the difference in attitude among older men when editing the Erotic Review , on reading material from older male contributors.

"Many of the contributors were in their 50s and 60s and it was as if they had only discovered sex and love when they hit their late 40s. "There is such a frantic rush to have sex as a form of relief in men's 20s and 30s that they miss out on the more developed emotionally eroticism. "They are not just trigger happy because they have slowed down and discovered what romance is about.

"Also, once you have accepted your body does not always function as you would want, it's a matter of being more realistic and not aggressively 'conquering' women," she said.

Women, however, "begin to think about going to the Gambia or shagging the gardener at that age", she observed, informs New Zealand Herald.

O.Ch.