Lifestyle Tips

The Importance of Proper Skin Care After Menopause

Like it or not, aging can cause a variety of changes to your body. The health and appearance of your skin is one of the most important things to focus on as you age. This is especially true after menopause, when a lack of youthful hormones can cause such unspeakable skin afflictions as atrophic withering, slackness, wrinkling, and progressive dryness and scaliness.

Postmenopausal skin can also become increasingly fragile, making it prone to bruising and tearing. Add to that the potential years of sun damage and intrinsic aging, and you have a long list of reasons why proper skin care is all the more important as we get older. Let’s take a look at why this is, and exactly what you can do to help keep yourself glowing with youthful energy.

Why Does Our Skin Change After Menopause?

Okay, so you understand that aging definitely takes a toll on skin, but why is that exactly? And furthermore, why is there such a particular drop in skin quality following menopause? Well, it turns out that there is actually a number of both chemical and biological reasons.

• Reason 1: Decreased Skin Cell Renewal
  As we age, the top layer of skin, known as the epidermis, begins to flatten and thin. As a result, the skin cells of this layer have trouble renewing themselves as rapidly as they once did. This means that damaged skin can not heal itself at the same speed that it could in its younger years. Additionally, this epidermal cell layer becomes drier after menopause, resulting in scaly and rough skin.
• Reason 2: Reduction in Collagen
  Collagen is the main structural protein throughout most parts of the body including the skin. In the first five years after menopause, the second layer of skin (known as the dermis) loses 30% of its collagen. This affects the “tightness” of your skin as well as its ability to hold a firm shape.
• Reason 3: Water Abatement
  Also in the skin’s second layer, important water-binding chemicals called dermal glycosaminoglycans are decreased, resulting in postmenopausal retaining of water and giving your skin a gellatinous appearance.
• Reason 4: Oxidative Stress
  Oxidative damage to your skin greatly accelerates following menopause. This causes greater damage to skin structures like cells, collagen, and elastin that is beyond the normal amount caused by sun damage or natural aging.

Change Up Your Skin Care Routine to Keep Up After Menopause

So now that you understand exactly what menopause-associated processes are and how they can contribute to excessive skin aging, you’re probably wondering what you can do to stay ahead of the game. Below are a few suggestions for how you can change up your usual skin care routine to help lessen the effects of menopause on your skin’s look, feel, and overall health.

• Build Up Collagen Levels, Hyaluronic Acid Levels, and Cell Structure in Your Skin
  This is a particularly important step towards your goal of taught, bouncy skin. Be sure to look for products that contain professional formulations of retinoids like retinol, prescription tretinoin (a.k.a. Retin A), and high amounts of Vitamin C. Increased levels of hyaluronic acid (a healing agent), such as those found in glycolic acid products, can also help to build your skin’s strength.
• Rejuvenate Your Skin’s Outermost Stratum Corneum Layer
  Rebuilding the appearance of outer skin cells will brighten your skin and give you a more youthful “glowing” appearance. Using products that contain glycolic acid, retinoids, and BHAs like salicylic acid will go a long way in this regard.
• Hydrate Skin and Avoid Drying Products or Excessive Sun Exposure
  As discussed earlier, postmenopausal skin is particularly prone to dryness. Because of this, you should use only sensitive skin cleansers and deeply hydrating moisturizers. In addition, never forget to apply professional antioxidant products and broad spectrum sunscreen if you plan to be out in the sun for extended periods of time.

What Else Can I Do to Ensure Proper Skin Health Following Menopause?

We’re glad you asked! As a women entering the later stages of life, keeping up on an extensive skin care routine can be a real challenge. Especially as new information and products are continuously released. Quite frankly, it can be a lot to handle.

Another postmenopausal option that you can explore when it comes to skin care and overall youthful appearance is natural hormone replacement therapy. At Renewed Vitality, we offer safe, effective hormone imbalance treatment options for both women and men at all stages of life. To get more information about hormone therapy methods, don’t hesitate to contact the experts at Renewed Vitality today!

Aging changes quite a few things about our bodies. Sometimes we gain weight, we have less energy, and our bodies don’t move like they used to. Mood and mental health can then be affected by these physical changes. This can have an impact on how we take care of ourselves and stand in the way of our health.

Knowing how to best approach these changes makes a huge difference in how they can affect your life. One way to combat the effects of aging is by engaging in exercise as it has been found to improve mood and mental health in aging adults. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of exercises specifically selected to meet those particular needs.

What Is Low Impact?

Low impact exercises generally refer to activities that put less harmful stress on the body. This refers to activities such as running. When you run, all of your weight is bouncing on your skeleton and joints, causing strain and potentially pain. Having that weight coming down on one hip joint, knee, or foot can lead to new pain or exacerbate existing joint problems.

Low impact exercises involve smoother motions where weight and stresses are transferred throughout the body more smoothly—avoiding that jolt of stress that can cause pain. Low impact is all about raising the heart rate and improving health without wearing on your joints.

Walking

We do it every day, and most people don’t consider it that much of a struggle to walk. If you’re looking for a good intro to low impact exercises, walking is a great option. For added difficulty, set your walk on an incline or with added weight like a backpack.

Cycling

Just like walking, cycling is a straightforward low impact exercise. Your body is in fluid motion and muscles are always working. It’s possible to either bike out and about or at home on a cycling machine.

Tai Chi

When it comes to smooth fluid motions, there’s really one activity that stands out as obvious. There are a variety of health benefits associated with Tai Chi, from improved balance and physical self-awareness, to improved mood and reduced stress. Unlike some other exercises, you don’t need any additional equipment to start practicing, and Youtube has plenty of videos for beginners looking to try their hand at this relaxing low impact exercise.

Yogo

Along the same vein of smooth motions and body control, yoga is a fantastic way to improve flexibility and balance. The awesome part about yoga is that you don’t need to be a master contortionist to get started (or even maintain the practice), and you can measure your improvements in easily identifiable ways. After a week or so of these stretches, you might notice you can reach down and touch lower on your legs or even get to your toes when you previously could not!

Swimming

Swimming is the ultimate low impact exercise. Your full weight is being supported in the water, meaning at no point is your body working to support it. Simply treating water is a fantastic way to increase your heart rate and improve cardiovascular health. Walking through water is even less impact than walking on dry land! You also get the added benefit of walking through the resistance of the water, meaning your exercise is even more effective. For an even more practical reason to try out this exercise, consider it a great excuse to hang out in the pool during the hot summer days!

Reaping The Benefits

There are a few reasons to do these exercises as we previously mentioned: physical, mental, and emotional health. Unlike heavy weight training or running where you can mark your success by checking your increased mileage and added weight on the dumbbell, low impact training requires something more internal.

Taking a look at your overall daily experience both in and out of your training is important. Some of these exercises allow for measuring of physical benefits—how far you might swim; can you touch your toes; length of a cycling session—but it’s hard to quantify the emotional benefits.

Try to notice how you feel before, during, and after an exercise. Even if you aren’t motivated before a workout, most people will testify that their mood has improved after the fact. Once you recognize this in your own experience with low impact exercises, that becomes a motivation in itself.

Doing regular personal check-ins about how you feel throughout the day, both before and after, can also put everything in perspective. Having a regular mental check-in regiment about your exercise routine can keep you sharp and improve/maintain overall functionality.

The Takeaway

Getting older doesn’t mean your body can’t continue to improve and maintain mobility and strength. By engaging in these simple and accessible low impact activities, you can hold off the more negative impacts associated with growing older.

Working with a professional to identify which exercises and practices might be most effective for you is always a good idea. The experts at Renewed Vitality are especially knowledgeable about these kinds of practices. Give us a call  to set up an evaluation and check in today!

Everyone has some notion about what it means  to grow older. These ideas aren’t always positive and can generate a certain level of anxiety around getting on in years. In many cases however, these tend to be myths and misconceptions about how our bodies change as we get older.

While there is some truth to every myth, getting older is always a subjective experience, unique to each person. Let’s take a look at some of the most prevalent thoughts regarding aging, and how they might not be entirely accurate for everyone.

Older People Can’t Adapt

This is a major myth. While it is true that some people don’t adapt to change in their older age, it’s also possible that those same people didn’t adapt to change when they were younger either! As we age, it’s entirely up to each person to decide how they will roll with changes to their everyday life. While it might be harder to adapt after years of living the same lifestyle, age isn’t the only factor.

Your Brain Isn’t As Sharp As It Used To Be

It’s a common trope that older people are mentally slowed or have bad memories. It’s a stereotype that doesn’t take into account each person’s unique experiences and qualities. Regular mental exercises and continuing to challenge yourself can keep memories and wits sharp even as we age. This is true at any age!

Older People Don’t Have Sex Lives

As we’ve discussed in previous articles, getting older doesn’t mean that your sex life disappears. It does change though! As hormone levels shift when we get older, we need to learn to adapt and figure out what works best for each of us. Physical changes might also have an impact on sexual relationships, but learning to adapt and live with changes is a normal part of getting older. In many cases, imbalances in hormone production can be addressed through hormone replacement therapy.

Getting Older Leads To Depression

Adults experiencing depression are usually dealing with the same causes as anyone else. Age is not a defining trait of someone with depression. Depression can be caused by any number of factors, with one of them being a hormone imbalance. These kinds of imbalances can be treated with proper diagnosis and hormone therapy.

Retirement Leads To Lack Of Productivity

Just because someone has left the workforce, does not mean that they no longer contribute to the community they live in. Many take the abundant free time to engage in activities they did not have time for prior to retirement. Some dedicate time to volunteer services, while others pursue hobbies and travel.

Once You Retire, You’re No Longer Creative

This goes hand in hand with the previous myth. Taking full advantage of the free time available is something most retired people look forward to. Taking on new challenges, exploring hidden talents, or cultivating a new skill are all possible at any age. There’s no reason creative pursuits have to stop as soon as you have the time to work on them!

You Become More Lonely As You Age

There’s no hard and fast rule saying that you have to stop being social as you get older. While mobility can be an impediment to staying socially active and going out to participate in activities, it varies from person to person. Just like with other points on this list of misconceptions, people tend to carry over lifestyles and habits from earlier in life. If someone spends time avoiding social activity their whole life, they’ll potentially keep up that trend in later years.

Dementia Is Inevitable

Dementia is a condition that affects less than 10% of those over 65. This myth is linked to the idea that older people’s minds start to go with age. Dementia is very different than simply becoming more forgetful or not as quick with a joke. In some cases, these symptoms are the result of medications or other medical conditions that can be addressed and treated separately from dementia.

Any time you hear a phrase that lumps all members of a group together, you should be skeptical of it. The idea that all old people are the same is as ridiculous as the concept that all middle aged or younger people are the same. In most cases, it’s possible to maintain the same kind of life and level activity even as we get older. It’s all about how you approach your aging. With the right mindset and knowledge about how to adapt, aging doesn’t have to slow you down or completely flip your life!

No matter what your gender is, sex, and our relationship to it, changes over time. Attitudes, conversations, and the actual performance of the act vary with age and preference. Just because it changes however, doesn’t mean it can’t still be enjoyable for you and your partner. We’ve compiled a few simple tips on how to keep the magic alive in the bedroom (or wherever) throughout the years:

1.	Accept That Things Change This is point number one for a reason. Over the years, our bodies change and so does what works for each of us. Treating your body like it’s 20 when you’ve been using it for 60 years or more can have repercussions. Know your body and embrace those changes!

 

Communication Is Never Not Important When it comes to sex, communication is always a major part of the partnership. If you’ve never clearly and openly talked about sex with your partner, then maybe it’s time to start that ball rolling. Communicating expectations, desires, likes, and dislikes is key to adapting to the natural evolution that a sexual relationship goes through.

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Talk To Your Doctor Some changes related to sex are less about being in the mood, and more about your body behaving differently than it used to. If an open dialogue about sex with your partner is important, then it’s equally important to have conversations with your doctor or a medical professional as well. Some common issues adults run into as we get older involve blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and a host of others. Talking with your doctor about these factors and how they apply to you is always a good idea to get a solid baseline to plan from.

It’s Not Just About You Whenever there is a piece of advice here, remember that it applies to both you and your partner. Talking about your desires is important, but just as important is listening to the person you are with. Understand that if you have concerns or hangups about sexual intimacy and sexuality, your partner might as well. Try to create an open and free atmosphere that you both feel comfortable engaging in these discussions that are about both of you.

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Apply What You’ve Learned Life is all about learning and growing from applying that experience. Don’t ignore this, especially when it comes to sex! Rather than the trial and error that goes along with young age, you now have the confidence in your body’s capability. Being sure of what you want and what fits in with your body can be a major boost to self-confidence and a huge factor when it comes to your sex life.

 

Don’t Rush Things Make it about more than the act of sex—turn it into an evening. Set aside time to make the whole experience more romantic. Try to reinvigorate the time leading up to the act. Have intimate conversation, read suggestive poetry, engage in something together that you have not yet experienced but have an interest in. Bring you and your partner closer together to draw out that intimacy and pleasure.

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Don’t Stress So Much Stress isn’t a great thing to bring into sex at any age, but as we get older, stress can seriously hamper our ability to enjoy intimate experiences. Depending on your stress contributors, sometimes an honest conversation with your partner can help alleviate it. Many people attach a great deal of stress to sex in general. Take that well-earned confidence from over the years and realize that sex is nothing to stress about.

Sometimes It’s Chemistry It’s not just the joints and bones that change over the years. Hormones shift over time which can lead to decreased sex drive or a total shift in what sex can mean for a person. If your hormones are causing issues when it comes to sex, seeking out hormone treatments or supplements can yield results. Talking with experts in the field of hormone replacement therapy is a great starting point for determining what your needs might be.

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Experiment With The Formula Over time, anything we do can become routine. Even the most enjoyable tasks can fall into a regular rhythm. In order to break that sameness around sex, it’s time to shake things up. Trying new sexual positions, different kinds of sex, even where you have sex can spice up your sex life in unexpected ways. Being open to these changes necessitates conversation for everyone involved, so remember that communication!

 

Work On Yourself Outside Of Sex Your life out and about can also impact your sex life. If you live a sedentary lifestyle, your sex life can suffer. Increasing your physical activity, even when it’s just around the house can result in improvements all over including sex. Reducing the amount of alcohol you drink and quitting smoking are also both major steps you can take to greatly improve your quality of life in addition to helping out with your sex life.

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Embrace The Change

Sex is something that can be enjoyed even as you get older. It can improve your mood, bolster your health, and creates and strengthens interpersonal connections. Even when it’s different from what it used to be, it can still be a fantastic and intimate experience. Don’t let age change your ability to enjoy your life.

Sex changes over time. The frequency, purpose, feeling, all of it. But when should it stop? The easy answer is it shouldn’t have to! There are no hard and fast rules about when women should stop having sex, because every person is different. As we get older, we experience more stress and need relief more than ever. Well, studies have shown that sex relieves stress! But what happens when your body is making it difficult or impossible to have sex as you get older? We have some ideas.

Why Do Sexual Changes Happen As We Get Older?

Hormone levels shift with age and can lower libido and sexual pleasure. While these changes can be minor, some women experience more significant shifts in what sex means for them as they get older.

Once menopause kicks in, women can go through some pretty drastic changes in their sex lives. Many experience decreased libido, difficulty with lubrication, and obstacles related to reaching climax. These issues can typically be traced back to the lack of hormones being produced by the ovaries, in particular estrogen. However, some issues are related to psychological issues including self-confidence issues, general stress, and anxiety.

The common thought about how to handle these kinds of issues is that women experiencing these kinds of sexual dysfunctions should seek out assistance. By having an honest conversation with your doctor about your concerns you may be able to find ways to alleviate and address those concerns. These fluctuations are natural, and can be countered in a variety of ways.

Mental Strategies

A good chunk of issues that can get in the way of enjoying a sexual relationship can involve the mentality around sex. The way we think about sexual health and relationships has the potential to affect the body’s physical performance. Talking with a sex therapist to get a better idea of how they can improve their mental relationship to sex.

The Sexual Advice Association says that, “Sex therapy is considered highly effective in addresssing the main causes and contributing factors of sexual difficulties.” By working out what exactly your mental blocks are regarding sex, you may be able to shift that thinking or find ways to improve sexual confidence and communication.

This strategy is also effective at helping to identify emotional roadblocks for sexual satisfaction.

Emotional Strategies

When addressing issues related to emotional health, some of the most common causes are depression and anxiety. These problems can arise as the result of hormone imbalances and shifts in the body related to menopause. Because every woman will experience menopause, there are plenty of resources to help identify these issues. You’re not alone!

Discussing these issues with a doctor or hormone specialist can return some solutions that were previously not considered such as hormone therapy. Hormone replacement therapy can help return the balance your body is used to. Sometimes, restoring this balance is exactly what someone’s sex life needs!

Physical Strategies

While the mental and emotional side of sex is always worth exploring and addressing, the other obvious side to addressing sexual issues involves physicality. Sex is a physical act, and if your body faces challenges when it comes to physical activity, those will transfer over to sexual activity.

Blood pressure, diabetes, and similar issues are common obstacles, and medications used to treat these conditions can affect sex in their own ways. Heidi Godman, the executive editor at the Harvard Health Letter, says that some treatments for these issues “can blunt interest in sex or cause difficulty reaching orgasm.” When you have these medications to make life better in some areas, but they interfere with other important factors, life can be complicated. Discussing these issues with your doctor makes it possible to start exploring other options for medications.

There are some strategies that you can embrace every day that can improve physical health, and will likely have a positive effect on your sexual health. By engaging in exercise and eating a healthier diet, you can increase blood flow and improve your heart health. A proper diet can also give you more energy without weighing you down.

Smoking and drinking can also interfere with how the body functions in relation to sex. Cutting out smoking entirely, and moderating how much alcohol you drink are huge when it comes to getting your sex life back on track.

How To Apply

When you have all of this information and are trying to figure out the best way to go about implementing it into your own life, it can become pretty overwhelming. When you find that the prospect of handling your stress is becoming stressful, it can quickly spiral out of control. As previously mentioned, seeking out assistance should always be a part of your strategy.

By talking with a professional either about your medications, or other physical, mental, or emotional issues related to sex, you’re laying the groundwork to start taking steps. By even talking to someone, you’ve already taken the first ones! Working with your doctor is a key factor when constructing future strategies for improving overall sexual health.

Sex is an important part of life, and getting older doesn’t mean it has to stop! There are ways to adapt to your body’s changing needs, and by exploring those possibilities, you can keep your sex life going strong!

If you’ve ever tried keeping track of your dietary intake, you’ve probably heard the terms “good cholesterol” and “bad cholesterol.” When it comes to taking an active interest in the composition of your food, cholesterol is usually one of those areas people think about, but it can be hard to track. In order to keep a handle on your good and bad cholesterol levels, the best method is to maintain a healthy diet. Here’s some information to inform your dietary decisions and improve your health!

How Can You Tell?

Unlike hormonal changes that result from having too much or too little of a hormone, having higher or lower cholesterol is typically not noticeable until something major occurs like a heart attack or stroke. The only way to know for sure if your cholesterol is too high is to take a blood test. Professionals recommend getting a cholesterol test every 4 to 6 years after you turn 20 years old.

The Bad: Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL)

LDL is the kind of cholesterol that sticks in your body more stubbornly and can cause problems in higher amounts. When LDL levels are too high in your blood, it can start to stick to the sides of your arteries and lead to an increase of heart disease, stroke, heart attack, and a variety of other issues. LDL cholesterol dense foods like fried foods, fast foods, heavily processed meats, and desserts are huge factors in raised “bad cholesterol” levels.

The problem is that once this cholesterol begins to stick to your blood vessels, it’s hard to remove it without medication. If you find out you have high or elevated LDL cholesterol levels, you should talk with your doctor about how to handle that moving forward. It is possible to make lifestyle changes that result in a better outlook in the future however!

Sources of LDL 

• Fast Foods
• Deep-Fried Meat and Cheese
• High-Sugar Low-Nutrition Foods
• Processed Meats (sausages, hot dogs, bacon)
• Fatty Desserts

The Good: High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL)

Sources of HDL

• Eggs
• Shellfish
• Avocado
• Fatty Fish (salmon, rainbow trout, albacore tuna)
• High-Fiber Fruit
• Whole Grains

Having a higher HDL level is actually a good thing. HDL carries LDL to different parts of the body where they can be broken down and used. Without HDL, LDL can start to build up. The key to improving your “good cholesterol” is to eat foods that have significant nutrients attached to them. Eggs, shellfish, and lean protein-rich red meats are some such foods.

By incorporating more olive oil, beans, high-fiber fruit, and fatty fish into your diet, you’ll raise your HDL levels and thus take solid steps towards improving your health. These foods are chock full of the right kinds of fat and cholesterol that your body needs. Studies have found that higher HDL levels can lead to a lowered risk of heart disease, stroke, and hardening of the arteries.

Can Hormones Affect Cholesterol?

Hormones affect how the body regulates itself and cholesterol levels are definitely affected by the amount of certain hormones within the body. Estrogen levels especially can create a fluctuation in HDL and LDL cholesterol in the body. Throughout a menstrual cycle hormone levels can fluctuate as much as 19 percent as levels of hormones shift in the body.

Thyroid hormone can also affect how your body goes about storing or transporting cholesterol. If you have elevated levels of one of these, it could very well affect levels of the others. Talking to your doctor or a healthcare professional is the best way to determine how to proceed with your health in regards to your cholesterol.

Studies have found that with continued hormone replacement therapy, LDL levels have been improved, so talk to your doctor about this as a possibility! 

Talk To Your Doctor

By planning on talking to your doctor, you can schedule the necessary blood tests, check on hormone levels, and discuss lifestyle changes to improve your overall health. Talking to your doctor or medical professional early on, it’s possible to identify these issues before they become long term problems. It’s also the only way to address existing cholesterol buildup so that you can move forward with a healthier and happier lifestyle.

Stress isn’t something you should just have to deal with. Stress is serious, and it can have very harmful effects on your health and happiness. Stress can happen at any age, but it becomes more of a problem the older we get. Knowing how maximize your relaxation can help you get those stress level down to a minimum. Below you will find a list of tips that will help you stop stress in the moment and in the long term.

Tips For Dealing With Stress

Avoid extra caffeine. Sure we all need our coffee in the morning, but did you know that stimulants like caffeine can increase your stress level. Maybe you’re feeling extra tired in the morning and think that the extra cup will pick you up. Skip it, because it will make you more stressed out later in the day.

Instead of all that coffee throughout the day, maybe try drinking more water. If you need something more exciting try herbal teas or diluted fruit juices. These options will take the stress caused by caffeine out of your life and bring in a ton of hydration. Being properly hydrated will will help your body cope better with stress!

Get Active! Our bodies use stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol when our “fight or flight” system is active, but, unfortunately, nowadays we don’t get enough physical exercise to manage those hormones. Hormones can really affect your overall mood. Getting active will help metabolize those excess stress hormones and bring you back to a state of calm.

You don’t have to go to the gym, everything helps. Maybe take a relaxing walk through the park or neighborhood. Getting active doesn’t mean overdoing it!

Use relaxation techniques. Take time to breathe throughout the day. One of the best tips I ever got for stress relief was to relax my shoulders. Do it right now, doesn’t that feel good? We carry our stress in a physical way, and we don’t even realize the toll it takes on our bodies. Some other tips: try meditation, create a self-affirming mantra, get a massage, etc.

You don’t realize how much taking some time to yourself will help.

Get Plenty of Sleep! Adults are meant to get around seven to nine hours of sleep, but according to a report from Gallup, almost half of American adults are getting less than seven hours. Here’s the problem, we are stressed because we don’t get enough sleep, and because we’re stressed we lay awake with thoughts preventing us from falling asleep. It’s a catch-22, but you can beat it.

If you incorporate the some of the tips from above you won’t have to rely on medication. Ensure that you haven’t had any caffeine near bedtime and try to get enough exercise throughout the day. Make a routine. One of the most important things you can do is make your bedroom a tranquil place. Sure, watching TV in bed is one of the finer things in life, but turning off the screen and dedicating your bedroom to sleep will train your body to know when you go there it’s time to rest.

Manage your time. A routine isn’t just important for nighttime; a daily routine will help you keep track of everything you need to do. Sometimes we get overwhelmed by everything we have to do, but a priority list will help you focus on one thing a time. Trying to take on everything at once is far too stressful. Schedule as much as you can, a schedule will take out the guesswork of your day. Of course leave time for spontaneity, but try to make your workflow streamlined. You will thank yourself.

Don’t forget to limit your caffeine, get active, get plenty of rest, try your best to relax, and make a routine. With these tips you can start to kick stress out of your life in no time, but if nothing seems to be working you could have a hormone imbalance. If you’re running out of options and the stress is getting to be too much, please contact us for a consultation!

It’s Normal But Don’t Settle

As we get older our sex drives do have a tendency to diminish a little. This is nothing to be ashamed of, we’re not the young, energetic, sex driven 20-somethings we used to be.

It’s normal to see some drop in your sex drive, but if it seems like getting in the mood is just impossible now, it could be a sign of something more than just typical aging effects. You could be effected by a number of serious issues including hormone imbalance. 

Below are some of the potential causes of lowered libido, and keep in mind a lot of these issues can be fixed or helped!

Interpersonal Issues

While your libido is a very personal thing, it can actually be connected to your interactions with others. If your partner is experiencing performance problems, this could cause your libido to fall. This is no fault of theirs or yours, so you should feel no shame. There are options to help with sexual performance, and it could be something you two could do together to help things out in the bedroom.

Another interpersonal issue could be the birth of a child. Child birth while obviously caused by sexual activity can unfortunately lead to less of it. This can be because of stress and worry, hormonal changes, a lack of sleep, postpartum blues, or body image issues. These are all temporary issues that you have the power to work through, but if you need to don’t ever feel ashamed of seeking help. 

It’s important to remember that your libido is linked to so many factors in your life, and that it’s never something you should be ashamed of no matter what’s causing it to fall.

Medical Problems

illnesses both mental and physical can cause problems with your sex dive. Depression can destroy your drive, and anyone suffering knows that fighting depression is a very hard battle. Depression, while caused by a myriad of things, could be caused by a hormone imbalance. Fixing the root cause is the best way to get every aspect of your life back, including your sex life.

Something physical that can cause sexual drive drops are thyroid issues. If your having hormonal issues with your thyroid you could experience weight gain, fatigue, depression, and a lowered sex drive. If your having issues with your libido the first place to look is the thyroid.

Low Testosterone

It may seem odd, but testosterone is actually important to the sex drives in both men and women, and low testosterone could cause a lowered sex drive. Women’s testosterone levels peak around the mid-20s and then steadily decline until menopause where they drop dramatically. 

We don’t really think of testosterone as a feminine thing, but a having the right levels of testosterone in your body could make you feel like a 20-year-old all over again. Well, that or just make you feel much more like yourself.

Medications

Our medications are important to our health, but sometimes they can also be detrimental to it. It’s important that we know the interactions that our medications have with every aspect of our bodies, and that we know how we can counteract some of the undesirable effects.

For example, some antidepressants can actually lower your sex drive, which might be completely counter intuitive. And, blood pressure lowering drugs are almost certainly going to lower your libido. It’s important that your consult with your healthcare provider to find the best way to protect everything aspect of your emotional and physical well being. 

Getting Back Your Desire

Your sex drive isn’t gone for good. There are number of treatment options available, and hormone treatment might be the best for you. With testosterone and/or estrogen treatment you could see results that will make you feel like you did pre-menopause. 

You don’t have to settle for the “inevitable.” 

Talk to your healthcare provider about options for getting your libido back!