Does Menopause Bring About A Reduction In Sexual Activity?

I just dont want to have sex anymore

When Mary came to see me, it was ostensibly for advice about how to reduce her severe menopause symptoms. However her attention was on her marriage and that?s what she talked about.

Mary?s marriage had been under increasing strain, since the onset of menopause. Her relationship with her husband had become more distant.

She explained that they had a pleasurable and healthy sexual relationship prior to menopause and asked me if menopause brings about a reduction in sexual activity.

This is not an uncommon question being asked by menopausal women, as a majority of women report diminished sexual activity during menopause.

An article was published on the National Institute on Ageing site about a study that looked at whether diminished sexual activity during menopause is caused by the transition itself or by general ageing. Here are 2 excerpts from it

Two million American women experiencing menopause this year want to know?how does ?menopause? affect sex? According to scientists at the New England Research Institute (NERI) and the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, menopause may be related to lower sexual desire and to reports of being less easily sexually aroused than when younger. However, general health and social factors, such as marital status, at this age have a greater effect on sexual functioning than a woman?s reduced production of the sex hormone estrogen that comes with menopause.

Later in the article it says

Although the investigators found that reaching menopause influenced women?s beliefs about aging and interest in sex, it did not contribute to how often the women had sexual intercourse, whether they were happy with their sexual relationship, whether they had problems having orgasms, or whether they experienced pain during or after intercourse.

If diminished levels of estrogen contributed to lessened sexual interest and activity, there should be a direct relationship between estrogen levels and sexual functioning. The researchers found that lower estrogen levels were only related to pain with intercourse.

Therefore, hormonal levels, health and social changes associated with aging, and the mental and emotional effects of being recently menopausal probably work together to create any changes in a woman?s sexual interest that occur at the time of menopause.

Longer-term studies could determine whether reduced estrogen production does affect a woman?s sexual functioning as she gets farther from menopause.

the full article

First let me say that the decreasing levels of estrogen in a woman?s body, during menopause, is responsible for most of the symptoms that women experience.

One of those symptoms is vaginal dryness, which can make intercourse very painful. This does not encourage a woman to want to engage in it.

If the woman is also experiencing hot flashes, mood swings, insomnia, etc, her appetite for sex will also be diminished. It is not hard to understand how these symptoms contribute to a decrease in sexual activity during menopause and can increase the strain in a relationship.

Recent studies have shown that the hormone changes during menopause can also reduce the sex drive itself.

Does menopause bring about a reduction in sexual activity? I would have to conclude that it does for most women, but not all women. Does it also have something to do with ageing? Yes, of course it does?..because menopause has something to do with ageing.

Please LIKE this post and SHARE it with friends who have questions about their sexual relationship

Source: http://menopauseweightloss.org/does-menopause-bring-about-a-reduction-in-sexual-activity/

valentines day cards hallmark grammy winners obama budget woolly mammoth belize resorts nikki minaj grammy performance