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A Primer on Your Sex Drive

At the very core of human sexuality lies our sex drive, a quintessential element that not only defines a significant part of our identity but also distinguishes us as humans. This innate force within us orchestrates our sexual desires, influenced by a tapestry of biological and psychological factors. It's the whisper of nature that speaks to the rhythm of our bodies and minds, guiding how we express and experience intimacy. Hormones are the conductors of this symphony, with testosterone and oestrogen leading the orchestra. Their levels in our body can cause our sex drive to either wane or intensify, acting on cues that are as varied as life itself. A surge can send our desires skyrocketing while…

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 A Guide to Understanding Your Libido

“I think libido is a vital sign, another way of checking in on the body and the body talking to us,” says Dr. Taz Bhatia, integrative wellness physician and host of the Super Woman Wellness podcast. “Don’t dismiss it.” The first step to charting your sex drive? Understanding your libido better. This National Masturbation Month, three experts break down everything you need to know about your libido and how to boost it for better sexual wellness.

Articles of Interest

Gen Z is in the middle of a sex recession: Here are 6 ways to boost your sex drive

Gen Z, like Millennials before them, have been at the receiving end of more than a few sweeping generalisations. While Millennials were criticised for their love of avocados and Harry Potter, Gen Z are often considered to be a sexless generation. Apparently, Gen Z-ers are having less sex —numerous studies have pointed to the trend. Plus, it's no secret that the pandemic took its toll on the nation's sex drive. One survey, conducted back in 2021 found that of almost 900 British adults found that 60% of people weren't having sex or engaging in sexual activity – including masturbation – even once a week in lockdown.

Sex-Drive Slowdown

According to popular myth, if you can have a successful, demanding career you cant have a great sex life—the time and energy consumed by the first all but preclude the latter. Simply not true: Many people with the highest performance level at work also have the greatest sexual capacity. And job-related fatigue per se is rarely the cause of an ongoing loss of libido: People often rest or find renewed vigor by shifting from one kind of activity to another, and sex can be very relaxing and energizing after a full, challenging day at the office.

Birth Control Affects Your Sex Drive, According to Study

According to a study published in the journal Evolution & Human Behavior, researchers found what kind of hormones are in your birth control can contribute to when you want to have sex with a partner. Hormonal birth control most often uses either estrogen, progesterone or a combination of both to prevent pregnancy. The study found people who use hormonal birth control higher in progesterone have more sex when they're in committed, loyal relationships, while people on birth control higher in estrogen are more likely to have sex when they're not so committed to their partner.

Couples, There’s Hope for Your Stalled Sex Life

Passion often drops off in a relationship after a few years. Here’s how to bring sexy back.

Don’t Call Female Desire Drugs ‘Lady Viagra’

Other than their intended purpose—encouraging sexual activity—female desire drugs and Viagra are completely different things.

Dopamine, Intelligence, and Sex Drive: An Intriguing Nexus

What is the connection between dopamine and sex drive in geniuses and others?

Female Libido Pill Fires Up Debate About Women And Sex

"We live in a culture that has historically discounted the importance of sexual pleasure and sexual desire for women," says Terry O'Neill, president of the National Organization for Women. "And I fear that it's that cultural attitude that men's sexual health is extremely important, but women's sexual health is not so important. That's the cultural attitude that I want to be sure the FDA has not, maybe unconsciously, imported into its deliberative process."

Going Off the Pill Revolutionized My Sex Life

I thought I wasn't sexual. Turns out, I was just on the wrong birth control.

Help! How Do I Get My Sex Drive Back?

Oftentimes, problems with libido are not purely physical. Stress is one of the most common reasons a woman’s sex drive plummets, the experts said. Low libido also can stem from energy and sleep issues, body image, relationship quality, gender inequities and other concerns.

Hot or Hype: The Science Behind Testosterone and Other Treatments for Low Sex Drive in Women

Before we dive into the role of testosterone and its role in female sexual desire, it’s crucial to understand that low sex drive in women can be a complex issue. Female sexual dysfunction is a medical condition that can interfere with a woman's enjoyment of sex. It’s important to note that this is considered a dysfunction only if it causes significant distress or discomfort.

How to Increase Your Sex Drive, According to a Neuroscientist

Sexual pleasure is key to lubricating our relationships, making them flow better (especially through times of challenge). And when it evaporates, the loss of sexual desire not only has the power to cause relationship problems but also robs us of something vital to health: pleasure. Sexual pleasure feels good and is good for us. It can lower stress and enhance immunity, and it gives an overall feeling of well-being—all things I discuss here in my Ask Dr. Nan column and in my new book Why Good Sex Matters.

How to Maintain Your Sex Life With a Low Libido

Even if you have a lower-than-average libido, you might not want to forgo having a sex life or contributing to a partner’s. If you still want to experience fulfilling sex with another person you’re dating, communication and honesty—and realistic expectations—can help get you there.

Is Low Sex Drive Normal? Revealing the Complex Causes of Low Libido in Women

A chronic low sex drive is a sign of hypoactive sexual desire disorder. Discover what causes low libido and how expert help can transform your sex life.

Is Your Sex Drive Normal? Probably

In a culture so fascinated by sex, hookups and dating apps, it can be easy to turn into an adult version of Goldilocks and question your own libido. Is it too low? Too high? Just right? And is thinking about sex all the time normal? Fear not: You’re probably fine. Sex drive is a spectrum, which means there is no universal normal when it comes to how often someone wants to have sex, says Dr. Bradley Anawalt, an endocrinologist at UW Medical Center – Roosevelt who specializes in low testosterone and male fertility.

Let’s Talk About Male Sex Drive

To start to evaluate male sexuality on the basis of revelations about men such as Harvey Weinstein and Louis C. K., who clearly are dealing with perverse sexual desires, is simply the wrong starting place. If we insist that all men have the potential in their sexuality for brutality, the result will gravely injure the nature of relationships between men and women.

Libido 101: Understanding and Exploring our Sex Drive

When it comes to our libidos (sexual desire), there really is no normal. Some of us are rampant rabbits; some of us would rather tend to ourselves; some of us are happy to be left alone, and a lot of us flit between all three at different times in our lives. Heck, we often flit between all three at different times in the month!

Libido and Erections: Birds of a Feather

I think of erections and libido as separate but related, like distant cousins who live near each other. They may be seen together and kinda look alike, but they take their own paths in life. Although both are governed by the same “rest and restore” nervous system, one can get an erection without having any libido (it happens several times a night to healthy men during their deepest sleep), and one can have a sex drive without an accompanying erection. But admittedly, things are sweetest when these two work together.

Not tonight, darling: how the world lost its libido – and how it can get it back

After a year of lockdowns, home schooling, social distancing and stress, sex drives are suffering – among both couples and single people. Can we do anything about it – or do we just have to wait till the end of the pandemic?

Sex drive: Theoretical conceptualization and meta-analytic review of gender differences

Few spheres in life are as universally relevant for (almost) all individuals past puberty as sexuality. One important aspect of sexuality concerns individuals' sex drive-their dispositional sexual motivation. A vigorous scientific (and popular) debate revolves around the question of whether or not there is a gender difference in sex drive. Several theories predict a higher sex drive in men compared to women, with some theories attributing this difference to biased responding rather than true differences. Currently, there is little consensus on how to conceptualize sex drive, nor does a quantitative summary of the literature exist.

The Surprising Truth About What Really Drives a Man’s Desire

When it comes to intimacy, most people assume men are always “ready.” Movies make it seem like they can flip a switch and go from zero to passionate in seconds. But here’s the truth: men are far more emotionally and mentally wired than most women think.

Understanding sex drive

Sexual desire changes as you age, but that doesn't spell the end of a satisfying sex life.

What happens to your sex life during perimenopause?

Along with hormone fluctuations that alter the body and sexual stimulation, Dr Kingsberg says the stresses and worries of midlife can cause someone's sexual appetite to diminish.

What is libido?

Another word for sex drive, the term ‘libido’ describes a person’s desire for sexual activity. There is no numeric measurement for libido, but it’s usually referred to as being low or high. There are many things that can affect our desire for sex, from biological reasons to social or psychological factors. In this post, we’re going to look at hormones, how they impact sexual desire, how libido changes throughout the cycle, plus the signs and causes of low libido.

Why Menopause Isn’t the Sex Killer You Thought It Was

The best predictor of how your sex life will change, in fact, is where you start. Women reporting issues with desire, arousal or orgasm at the start of the study, for instance, were more likely to continue to have those issues at the end of the study. But, as the results show, where you start doesn’t have to dictate where you end up when it comes to sexual function. “By modifying your life and attitudes about sexual desire,” Spector says, “you can change things sometimes surprisingly for the better, although you are getting older.”

Why Romance Novels May Increase Your Sex Drive

If you don't wake up ready to have sex or feel desire as soon as you think about sex, you probably have what is called responsive rather than spontaneous desire. This does not mean you are broken, the majority of women have responsive desire when it comes to libido.

Will ‘Libido In A Pill’ Help Women Get It On?

The "female Viagra" has to tackle more than just a physical malfunction.

Women’s sexual desire often goes undiscussed – yet it’s one of their most common health concerns

Female sexual desire is frequently misunderstood. Despite desire (also known as libido or sex drive) being the most common sexual health concern for women, most women aren’t really taught about it growing up. And if they are, the information is often inaccurate. This lack of education not only perpetuates misinformation, stigma and shame about female sexual desire, it can also have a major effect on wellbeing and perceptions of satisfaction in intimate relationships.

‘How do I increase my libido?’

Sometimes simply knowing that a drop in libido can be normal is reassuring. Other times it’s not and it’s worth checking out a few things. Do a quick scan of your general health, including stress and lifestyle (alcohol, drugs, sleep habits, exercise). Alternatively chat with your partner and look at what’s happening inside and outside the bedroom.

Resources

10 Questions You’ve Always Wondered About Your Libido

You’ve probably wondered more than once if your relationship to sex is normal. Do you think about it enough or too much? Are you having more or less sex than everyone else? And, more importantly, should you care? When broaching the subject of libido, it’s hard not to immediately question how “normal” your thoughts, habits, and preferences are. But, like most concepts having to do with our bodies, libido is a lot more complicated than many of us think.

11 Foods That Increase Libido (and 4 That Kill It)

If you find you're more eager to sleep than have sex regularly, your sex drive may need a booster shot. Here are 11 foods that enhance desire by increasing your libido — plus four to avoid if you want to get in the mood.

15 Everyday Habits to Boost Your Libido

If you’ve lost that frisky feeling, you’re not alone. Research shows that nearly a third of women and 15% of men lack the desire to have sex regularly. But there are things you can do to put the sizzle back into your sex life. Jumpstart your libido with these expert-approved lifestyle changes.

5 things to know about your sex drive

It is typical to be curious about how much sex other people are having and what constitutes “normal” or “abnormal.” In reality, there is no normal, there is just the right amount for you.

Seven ways … to boost your libido

Exhaustion, stress, drugs and poor technique can all cause your sex drive to stall. How can you get it back on track?