Sex has great health benefits for older people

Older people having more sex is great, but being over 65 does not protect you from STI’s

While we should celebrate older people getting it on, it seems that they are also in need of some sex education

The news that swingers’ clubs in Somerset have been enlisted to give lessons on sexual health to pensioners is not, as it may seem, a silly season curiosity. The number of sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) is increasing disproportionately among the over-65 age group within the county, and as the proliferation of dating apps ushers in a new age of permissiveness and liberation, those who missed out on the era of free love first time round are throwing themselves enthusiastically into one last ride on the merry-go-round, with the inevitable results.

Quite why the ancient county of Somerset should now be renowned not just for its scrumpy, but for its rumpy-pumpy too, is difficult to fathom, but the rise of STIs across all age groups – and especially among those of pensionable age – is something that the county council is taking seriously. Michelle Hawkes, a health specialist, told a meeting of the council that older people are unlikely to go their GP if they have a sexual health issue. “We are trying to do more with the swinging communities,” she said, “but they’re very wary or distrusting of us

This is not altogether surprising, but the council should be praised for its adventurous thinking. The advent of Viagra, and the ready access to casual encounters online, means that people stay sexually active for longer, so finding ways to reach this constituency with relevant public health messages is very important.

Sex has great health benefits for older people

Is this explosion of old-age licentiousness a good thing? It is tempting to agree with the novelist Howard Jacobson, who once posed this conundrum relating to the emergence of that little blue pill: Q: What’s worse than losing your sex drive at the age of 65? A: Having to get it back again. But Viagra has given millions of mature men and women a spring in their step, and a reason to stay alive, so it’s hard to gainsay its contribution to contentment and vitality among the elderly. And the smartphone has translated desire and readiness into easy opportunity, and, as we now know, it’s not just the young who are bound for the land of carnal delight.

We can expect this trend to continue as more research points to the beneficial effect of sex in later life. This week, a major study undertaken in Britain and Italy over two years concluded that regular sex can lessen the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, affording a better quality of life for people in the early stages of the condition, while previous studies have revealed that sex is good for the heart, can reduce stress, lower blood pressure and boost the immune system. So – basically – why wouldn’t you?

All around the country, oldies are at it in a way we’ve never seen before. We should celebrate this but, as we’re now aware, it comes with risks, even for those experienced in the ways of love. Meanwhile, the youngsters of today are more circumspect, reserved and responsible in matters sexual. And maybe, in an inversion of the natural way of things, they now have to dispense advice to their elders, about to head off to the Shepton Mallet Swingers’ Club, or for some nookie in Wookey. “Listen, Grandad, I want you to enjoy yourself, but you will take precautions, won’t you?”