Sex in the 60s & beyond is booming

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The teeth are all gone, but the lip lock is still strong. The joints are creaky, but creaking sound continues to emanate from bedrooms.

A majority of aging Indians — even 90-year-olds — are sexually active, a study has found. At least 83 per cent continue to masturbate — men mostly out of habit and women for orgasm.

The first Indian study on sexual behaviour of the elderly conducted on 3,021 people — 40 per cent of them from Tamil Nadu — aged 50 to 91 has found most seniors prefer sex at night, but 13 per cent are game day and night.

The frequency of sex ranges from 10 times a month in the 50s and six times in the 60s to once a month in the 90s, but the mostly English-speaking graduate respondents from middle- and upper-income brackets said they wished they could have more and 26 per cent admitted extra-marital sex.

While most men cited lack of privacy at home as a reason for looking outside, for women it was lack of emotional bonding with husbands.

“Most Indians believe once old, people become asexual. People often unknowingly separate aged parents making them sleep in different rooms or with grandchildren,” said sexologist Narayan Reddy, who led the study team.

“The ability to perform sexually is not affected by age, it is just that the pace slows down. Sex reduces depression and anxiety, improves physical health and helps age gracefully,” he said, adding that old age was a great time for couples to enjoy sex — they have more time and there is no pregnancy scare.