Sheryl Kingsberg, Ph.D., University Hospitals Case Medical Center
| Breaking News | President Obama to Reveal Afghanistan Plans in Address to the Nation Tuesday Night |
Question: What is the difference between the age of a couple and the age of a relationship?
Answer: There is a very big difference between the age of a couple and the age of a relationship, because we typically assume that the older somebody gets, the less likely they are to have a satisfying sexual relationship. Well, let me clarify that. That is a myth and for two reasons: One, is that sexual response may change as we age, but it certainly doesn't need to go away. And as women and men learn how their bodies change, they can certainly maximize sexual response.
Also, when we think about the age of a relationship, we think about the concept of falling in love and the grand passion that occurs with that, and that can occur at any age.
So, for example, if you had a 70-year-old couple, who had just gotten together and just fallen in love, and you compared that with a 30-year-old couple who had been married for 15 years. I'm guessing that the 70-year-old couple would be having a much happier time in the bedroom, because they're still in that period of grand passion where they're exploring each other and learning about each other; whereas, the couple married for 15 years has sort of faded into that comfortable period where they really have to work at romance.
So do not assume that you know something about a couple based on their age alone or the age of the relationship, because age is not the only factor that counts.
