Sex boosts pensioners’ memory

London - Frisky pensioners who continue to have sex well into their 70s are less likely to suffer from confusion and memory loss in later life, scientists say.

A team from Rostock University in northern Germany including Professor Peter Kropp and Dr Britta Muller interviewed 170 people aged between 63 and 75 in 2011.

They found that sexual satisfaction was directly linked with a young mind.
 
“The results clearly show that staying active in later life - and this includes having sex - helps keep you cognitively active,” the Daily Mail quoted Dr Peter Kropp as saying.

The study, called ‘Use It or Lose It’ also found that while only 57 per cent of 63 year-olds said they were satisfied with their sex lives, this rose to 70 per cent of 75-year-olds.

Dr Kropp said the average 20-year-old think they will stop having sex by the time they are 50. When they reach 40 this rises to 70 and when they reach 50 it goes up to 80.

He hoped their study explain ‘sex in old age is not only possible, but helps keep you going.’

He added that even when couples lost the physical ability to make love, intimacy is still important.

“Sometimes holding hands or a loving glance is just as important,” Dr Kropp said.