Lack of libido is more common in women than men, but it significantly affects both sexes. In fact, research shows that 32 percent of women and 15 percent of men lack the desire to have sex regularly. Whether you’re on the lower or higher end of the age spectrum, a low libido can strike at any year of your life for a whole variety of reasons, including low testosterone, depressive episodes, stress, relationship issues, sexual dysfunction, prescription medications, being overweight, too little or too much exercise, drug or alcohol use. Naturally, many people wonder how to increase libido.
If you have little to no sex drive, you’re definitely not alone. The great news is that there are a lot of natural remedies to increase libido, and you can start increasing your sex drive naturally today. If a higher sex drive is your goal, then it’s time to make some lifestyle changes. For instance, decreasing your stress levels, improving your sleep, adding more natural aphrodisiacs to your meals and exercising the right amount to put your mind and body back into a libido-encouraging state are all techniques for how to increase libido without potentially harmful medications.
How Do Men and Women’s Libido Differ?
Libido is defined as a person’s overall sexual drive or desire for sexual activity. Low libido in women and low libido in men have some similar roots, along with some gender-specific ones as well. For men, it’s actually quite normal to have a gradual decrease in libido as a man gets older. Each man is different, but most men tend to have some amount of sexual desire into their 60s, 70s and even 80s. If aging isn’t at the root of libido decrease, a man may be emotionally down or experiencing too much stress. Other possible causes of low sex drive in men are medication side effects or a decrease in male sex hormones due to an endocrine disorder or sleep problems.
When it comes to a low sex drive in women, there can be many causes. According to sex psychologist Sheryl Kingsberg, P.h.D, “Women’s sexuality tends to be multifaceted and fairly complicated.” Common causes of a loss of sexual desire or low libido in women include issues in your relationship with your sexual partner, sociocultural influences, job stress and medical conditions such as a thyroid issue. Female testosterone levels peak in the mid-20s and then steadily decrease until a woman goes through menopause. After menopause, female testosterone levels drop dramatically, and sex drive can drop dramatically as well. Birth control pills and other forms of hormonal pregnancy prevention can also have negative effects on a woman’s desire for sexual activity.
How Can You Increase Your Libido?
So how do you increase your libido? Well the biological chemicals dopamine and prolactin may affect your level of sexual desire whether you’re a man or woman. It’s theorized that dopamine increases desire while prolactin decreases it. If you take any medications, it’s important to know that some can increase prolactin release or inhibit dopamine release. Either of these two scenarios can decrease sexual desire and also cause other sexual side effects. In men, low prolactin has been linked with multiple signs of poor sexual health and psychological health. Low prolactin levels are also associated with being overweight, high blood sugar levels, lower levels of physical activity and just generally feeling unhealthier. Relationship issues, low energy, prescription medications, alcoholism or drug abuse can all be at the root of low sex drive for both sexes.
Foods & Supplements That Increase Libido
Your diet affects your sex drive. There are foods that directly impact libido, either positively or negatively, and supplements that can benefit those struggling to work up the desire for sexual intimacy.
Foods That Help Increase Libido:
Foods to Avoid:
Libido Boosting Supplements for Women:
Nutrition and supplementation are commonly overlooked factor in low libido. Before you try all kinds of aphrodisiacs or medications to boost your sex drive, reexamine your daily diet, make sure you’re fueling your body with the right combination of vitamins and minerals and don’t forget you boost your love hormones. To learn more about Oxytocin, click here.