People (mainly men) joke that they’re at their sexual peak, but what does that mean? Do you reach an age where you feel frisky, confident, and ready for a roll in the hay, and then it all goes downhill from these? Or is this biological phenomenon all a myth which drastically impacts gender wellness and sexual health?
The myth goes that men tend to hit the peak of sexual wellbeing at the age of 18, while women meander along to that milestone and hit it when they’re in their 30s. This conventional wisdom has been knocking around since 1953, when early sexpert Alfred Kinsey proposed the theory in his groundbreaking work Sexual Behaviour in the Human Female. According to Kinsey, men and women mature and think about sex differently, and this has remained the prevailing theory about sexual peaks.
While Kinsey’s views may hold up if you were to look at hormone levels alone, they still don’t apply to sexual peals. Men’s testosterone levels are in tip-top shape around the age of 18, while women’s oestrogen and fertility are at their highest during the mid- to late-20s. Wellness experts know this as your genital prime, because this is when your body responds most quickly to arousal. However, this is not the same as your sexual prime. In fact, sexual peak is different for every adult, and so it’s near-impossible to predict or claim at what age yours will be.
Just having a good number of sperm in the tank or a higher risk of getting knocked up isn’t enough to make you on top of your sexual game; sex is also psychological. Your sex life can be monumentally impacted by mental factors, such as your body confidence, personal sexuality, feelings of intimacy and trust with your partner, libido and sexual preferences take time and experience to develop. Regardless of hormonal maturity or concentrations, both men and women reach their sexual peak when they’re most comfortable with their own bodies and sexuality. However, if you want to boost your sexual wellness, Greatist Expert Dr. James Hardeman advises that regular exercise, a balanced diet, and not smoking can make psychological and physiological sexual peaks last longer.
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