“Masturbation is nice because I get off social media for a bit,” comedian and author Ginny Hogan once tweeted. After screen time soared and sexual activity took a hit during the global pandemic, it’s a good reminder that nurturing your libido and finding pleasure solo or with a partner is a powerful form of self-care. Not to mention, it can be a measure of overall health and wellness. “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.
What is libido?
Different people may define the term in different ways, but scientifically speaking, libido is typically used to refer to one’s overall sex drive, or the degree to which someone has interest in and desire for sex. “It’s probably best to think of libido as a biopsychosocial phenomenon, meaning it is affected by a mix of biological, psychological, and social and environmental factors,” explains Justin Lehmiller, PhD, social psychologist, sex researcher, and research fellow at the Kinsey Institute.
What does it mean to have a high or low libido?
In the simplest of terms, low libido is when there is minimal to no sexual interest and desire, while, conversely, high libido is when there is frequent or strong sexual interest and desire, says Lehmiller. However, he and many other experts underline that sex drive is a subjective parameter and varies from one individual to the next. “Each person likely measures their level of drive based on what they consider to be their ‘normal,’ so once a week may be normal for one person while every day might be normal for someone else,” explains Anita Sadaty, MD, attending physician in obstetrics and gynecology at Northwell Health System.
What causes a loss of libido?
When guiding patients through what impacts their libido, Sadaty most often finds the following to be underlying causes:
Stress: “Broadly speaking, women need to be relaxed to want sex whereas men have sex to relax. This often explains why libido increases for women on vacation.”
Fatigue: “Oftentimes sleep trumps sex for women. Studies show that if women sleep 8 hours a night, libido goes up. This is likely related to the effect of disrupted circadian rhythm on stress hormone and female sex hormone balance.”
Relationship Conflict: “Some consider a woman’s brain the biggest sexual organ in the body. If there is emotional tension within a couple, that stress can reduce libido.”
Medication Side Effects: “Anti-depressants, narcotic pain medications, anxiolytics, blood pressure medications can reduce libido. Anti-depressants impact the serotonin pathway, which can reduce dopamine levels. Dopamine is critical to sexual appetite.”
Hormones: “Estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and cortisol—there are tons of hormone receptors in the brain that can trigger sexual desire. Additionally, adequate hormone levels will keep sexual organs functioning properly. Hormones increase blood flow to pelvic organs, such as the vagina, labia, clitoris, and uterus, which improves lubrication, sensation, and orgasm.”
Sadaty also notes that mood disorders, such as anxiety and depression, can curb sex drive, as can pain with intercourse. On the whole, sexual desire tends to follow the curve of hormone levels for women. “It is highest probably in late teens and 20s, may dip in the 30s for some, and then may be more impacted in 40s and 50s,” explains Sadaty. “There are so many reasons for this, but as a general rule, as we get older, life can become more complicated, relationships become harder in some cases, stress levels rise, hormones fluctuate or drop, and medical issues can arise.”
How can you boost libido?
“Boosting libido requires a deeper dive into the cause, and once that is uncovered, you can [better] direct treatment,” says Sadaty, who encourages women to consult a doctor to help identify underlying causes of low libido, as well as develop sex drive-boosting strategies. If one’s libido level is causing persistent, sustained distress or problems in one’s life, Lehmiller recommends consulting with a physician or a certified sex therapist to locate the cause or causes, because treatment will vary depending on whether the root is a hormone issue, stress, relationship problems, or another issue. That being said, there are many things a woman can do on her own, including “mindfulness or meditation techniques to reduce stress, incorporating more novelty into one’s sex life such as using sex toys, because novelty can help to awaken sexual excitement and desire, and taking more time to build arousal,” he explains.
“Some women only tend to experience what’s known as ‘responsive desire,’ which refers to desire that appears in response to pleasure and sexual activity,” he continues. “This is different from ‘spontaneous desire,’ which is the kind of sexual desire that just hits you out of the blue. Some women with low desire are just more of the responsive type, which requires taking a different approach to sex and looking for more external stimulators and ways to build arousal so that the desire component kicks in.”
When guiding patients, one of Sadaty’s biggest suggestions is to make time for sex, whether you’re masturbating or doing it with a partner. “It gives you time to mentally prepare and may get you in the mood,” she says. She also recommends exercising, which increases sympathetic nervous system activity and increases genital blood flow, and getting enough sleep as it helps to improve testosterone levels and reduce stress hormones such as cortisol. Sadaty notes that aphrodisiacs, including oysters and chocolate, and herbal supplements, such as maca root, which is found in Moon Juice’s cult-favorite adaptogenic blend Sex Dust, can also help get you in the mood. All in all, it’s important to know what’s normal for you, what strategies are most effective, and how your mental and physical health could be impacting things with help from a physician or specialist.
This article was originally published on Vogue US.
