Engagement in sexual activity and the experience of sexual pleasure can influence mental wellness in later life. This finding comes from researchers affiliated with Hope College and Purdue University, and the work has been featured in the Journal of Sex Research. The study highlights a clear link between sexuality and cognitive health among older adults.
To explore how intimacy relates to cognitive function, the research team used data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP). The analysis included 1,683 participants aged 62 and older who reported having a spouse or partner for at least five years. The team examined three dimensions of partnered sexuality: how often sex occurred, the level of physical pleasure experienced during sex, and the emotional satisfaction derived from sexual activity.
The results indicate that for individuals aged 75 to 90, engaging in sex at least once per week is associated with better cognitive performance compared with peers who are sexually inactive. This points to a potential protective role of regular intimate activity on cognitive aging, though the study acknowledges that other factors may also contribute to these outcomes.
For younger seniors, those between 62 and 74, the quality of sexual intercourse and the pleasure gained from it emerged as the primary factors linked to cognitive function. Participants who reported higher satisfaction with their intimate experiences tended to show stronger thinking abilities than those who were less satisfied, suggesting that emotional and sensory aspects of sexuality may support cognitive health in this age group.
Across genders, the analysis did not reveal meaningful differences between men and women regarding how often intercourse occurred or how frequency related to cognitive function. This finding underscores that the cognitive associations observed were not strongly tied to sex or gender alone but to the experience of intimate connection and satisfaction itself.
Earlier inquiries into sexual activity and aging have also examined patterns in when people are most likely to have sex, helping researchers understand behavioral trends that accompany different stages of later life. These lines of research contribute to a broader picture of how intimate relationships intersect with overall well-being as people age.