Yup, Old People Still Do It

A national poll on “healthy aging” conducted by the University of Michigan indicates that one way older people are keeping healthy is by freaking.

The survey was conducted online, with 1,000 participants between the ages of 65 and 80 answering questions about their lifestyle habits. In that age range, 40 percent of people reported being sexually active. Researcher Dr. Erica Solway believes the results are important, because conversations around sex in relation to aging are rarely given focus. She told the Guardian, “We recognize that sex and sexual health is something that is very important to the health and wellbeing of older people but is not something that gets a lot of attention.”

But it should, because the horny stays with us. From the Guardian:

The results reveal that 84% of men and 69% of women between 65 and 80 believe sex is important to a relationship at any age, with just over half of men and just under a third of women reporting that they were sexually active – although the researchers did not define quite what that involved. “We wanted it to be how that person defined it,” said Solway.

The numbers are a bit split by gender: Only 12 percent of women said they had a “strong interest” in sex, compared to 50 percent of men. There were also fewer men who were happy about the level of sex in their relationship. They want more. As the age bracket moved up, there was some decline in numbers. Only a quarter of respondents between the ages of 76 and 80 said they were sexually active, but about half in the lower age range said they were.

It’s still a topic that needs more public discussion: rates of STIs have been at an all-time high amongst older people, according to the Center for Disease Control, who published stats from 2012 to 2016 that show a huge jump. Apparently, older people who no longer fear pregnancy forget that there are other potential concerns or are uncomfortable discussing the topic with doctors.