The message from doctors is clear -- don't give up on sex, just because you've reached a certain age. Houston-based Family Therapist Mary Jo Rapini says having sex really is associated with higher cognitive function in seniors.
“Your word use is more fluent, it's more expanded,” Rapini says, “and your visual-spatial memory, like you can draw a picture of something that you remembered.”
Researchers admit there is a social block when older people think about sex. They say that needs to be challenged. It's not only good for the body and the heart, but it's also a direct path to improved mental health.
Rapini concurs. She says the difference is obvious.
“(Seniors who have sex) seem more invested in life, more with it. They keep up-to-date more. They have just a different outlook on life.”