It is common knowledge that when men and women age their sexual function slows down too. By the time a man is fifty he may suffer from erection problems and lack of desire and this is likely to be the same for women. A marriage may start to go through a rocky patch if one partner feels that his or her sex life is not up to scratch. Men and women do not always age at the same rate and so one partners sexual desire may be higher than the others and it is important to deal with these issues as you age and not to brush the under the carpet.

The other issue to consider is that it might not be age alone that is affecting the sexual function in both women and men but some other underlying health problem that has yet to be diagnosed. In fact if you are healthy and fit and you start to get erection problems it is a good start to get a complete check up as there could be something more seriously wrong with you than a simple blood flow problem to the penis for men. The most obvious ones are enlargement of the prostrate, heart disease, blocked arteries or hight blood pressure in men and for women it is likely that menopause is setting in or that physcological problems are evident.

For men it is normal to have a decrease in testosterone with age and this will in turn result in a decrease sexual desire and stamina. The other big culprit for men is prostate enlargement which can be the cause of urinating difficluties and this may eventually cause erectile dysfunction. Old traditional remedies to help men with this prostrate problem include saw palmetto or pumpkin seeds.

For women when they start to go through menopause they often experience a lack of sexual desire and this is mainly to do with the levels of oestrogen reducing. Typical symptoms include memory problems, lack of lubrication in the vagina, hot flashes and no desire for sex. Research shows that low levels of oestrogen hinder the sensitivity of nerve endings required for satisfying sex and this reduces the pleasure for the woman. Oestrogen has also been known to be responsible for increased blood flow into the sexual organs of a woman thus increasing sexual desire.

Women can treat this problem of the lack of oestrogen by eating foods rich in natural oestrogen like red clover or soy. Other traditional remedies for the increasing of sexual health in women include ginseng, puncture vine, Withania and Damiana. Damiana for example has been traditionally linked to better sexual performance in both women and men and has been used in the for well over one hundred years in Europe and America. It is basically an aphrodisiac which may in certain people heighten sensitivity and stimulate sexual pleasure for both men and women. The other traditional herb to try is Withania which is said to help a woman increase her desire for sex.

In the case of women sexual desire is linked very much to their heads and it not just a physical action. Therefore a woman's sexual desire can be heightened by a few word and a bit of tender loving care. Try candles and flowers and a present or two.

Men and women both can lose interest in sex if their stress levels are too high so this must be considered. High stress levels are more likely to effect a woman's sexual confidence and desire. Talking about stress and trying to relax can really help a relationship sexually and othewise.