Just when you thought you needed a better love life, this month a new study published in the American Journal of Medicine  reveals older women are increasingly happy in their sex lives. That’s right, no fear if you’re trying to navigate the bar scene, apparently it gets better.

Surveying a group of 806 women age 40 or older (with a median age of 67), the study found that as women age their satisfaction also increases. Indeed, a majority of women were moderately or very satisfied with their sex lives. That said, satisfaction doesn’t seem to come from getting what they want when they want. The sad thing is that just under 40 percent of women never or almost never experience any kind of sexual desire. So, it’s kind of a good news bad news situation here.

Of the total number of women, only half were sexually active in the past four weeks, so apparently once you’re over 40 you have a 50/50 chance of getting laid once a month. That’s pretty depressing if you think about it. Except the silver lining is that according to the survey “at least most of the time, although one third reported low, very low, or no sexual desire.” So at least they aren’t missing something, right?

The good news is that among the half that are sexually active, they tend to have increased reports of arousal (64.5%). And it isn’t dependent on age! Yes, younger women tend to have higher frequencies of arousal (54.8%), but women at the oldest part of the age bracket (80+ years old) reported also having some form of arousal “almost always or always.”

Many of the readers of Eden Cafe know that sexuality is an important part of healthy relationships regardless of your stage in life. As we grow older, I’m sure we can see that confidence, comfort, even self respect increases as we become more experienced with our bodies, relationships, and sexuality. The awkwardness we experience in the teenage years gives way to craziness of the 20′s, and ideally the confidence of your 30′s. Sex can still be about fireworks, even if you’re in a loving committed relationship. And just because folks are aging doesn’t mean you have to have sex while discussing which bills to pay or emergency numbers to call if your Viagra interferes with your blood pressure medicine.

In my purely uneducated opinion, the trick is to keep going. If you’re aging, your spouse passes away, or you experience a divorce later in life and don’t have any interest in dating – the last thing you should do is stop thinking about sex altogether. That’s just sad. Loving your partner is just as important as loving yourself if you don’t have a partner. One important finding from doctors is that a healthy body is a happier body. Take care of your body and your body will be good to you too! If you do things that increase your testosterone levels like having sex or working out, you can also increase your sexual desire.

Playing with yourself as a means of taking care of your mental and physical needs is a great way to keep your libido up and increase your mood. Just because you’re over 50 doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be well stocked with toys to enhance your life whether you’re partnered or not! Don’t let age get in your way!