Your libido can start declining as you age, especially once you cross the age of 40. To improve your libido, you should try to sleep well, exercise regularly, improve your lifestyle, manage stress and consume natural products like avocados, ginseng, carrots, fenugreek, citrus fruits, maca, tomatoes, watermelon, oysters and more.
To get some more insight into these methods, we dive deeper into understanding how we can better deal with the issue.
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How To Increase Libido In Men Over 40
If you have crossed the age of 40 and find yourself having a lower libido or sex drive, this is actually quite natural. It can, of course, be a bummer. If you want to maintain a more active sex life with your partner after you turn 40, it is important for you to make a few changes in your life.
Take a look at a few of these simple changes below and start incorporating them into your routine as soon as possible.
Sleep Well
Sleeping well is extremely important when it comes to your sex drive and the ability to feel sexual desire. A consistent lack of sleep may very well explain why your libido has been lower than usual, so make this correction first and notice an improvement in your sexual drive the next day.
Sleeping for up to eight hours a night and ensuring that this sleep is of high quality can have numerous benefits on your body that also extend to your libido. This becomes exceedingly important as you age.
Exercise Regularly
When it comes to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, exercising is essential. It helps keep your heart healthy while also improving blood circulation to various organs and parts of your body. If you maintain a regular exercise level even after turning 40, you are bound to notice an increase in your stamina and metabolism.
The improved blood flow will also make it easier for you to improve your libido given the easier flow of blood to the penis and higher chances of feeling sexually aroused.
Improve Your Lifestyle
Various elements in your existing lifestyle might not be suitable enough for your libido to hold up as well as it used to. Listen to your body and try to work on such elements. For instance, if you tend to smoke or drink a lot, try reducing the frequency or quitting to notice a marked improvement in your libido.
You should also maintain a balanced diet and keep your weight at a healthy level. Once you incorporate these changes, your libido will start improving gradually.
Manage Stress And Anxiety
You might not think it, but too much stress and anxiety or even depression tend to have a huge impact on your libido.
If you tend to work a lot or have other stressors in your life or even a generalized anxiety disorder, you should work on managing them better. Strive towards an improved work-life balance and give enough time to your partner.
You should also consider speaking to a therapist to help you increase your sexual and general well-being.
Use Natural Products
Consuming some kinds of natural products are excellent and healthy ways for you to improve your libido, mainly because you do not need to worry about potential side effects.
Many of these are considered to be natural aphrodisiacs, so if you want to improve your sex drive, try some of these out (without overdoing it) and see if they make a difference!
Avocados
Avocados have many health benefits since they are rich in vitamin B6 which can help you feel a lot less tired than usual. Additionally, avocados are great for the heart since they contain healthy fats that allow the overall blood flow in the body to improve.
Carrots
Carrots are full of some beneficial vitamins and minerals like vitamin K, potassium and beta-carotene. They are also quite healthy due to their healthy fats and fibers, thus allowing you to manage your weight better than other fatty vegetables like potatoes.
They also help reduce blood cholesterol and improve circulation.
Ginseng
Ginseng is a plant variety whose roots are common as a herb in both cooking as well as in herbal medicines. The nitrates in ginseng turn into nitric oxide, which helps the body improve blood circulation while also allowing the muscles to loosen up a bit.
This extends to the penis as well, making it possible for your erectile activity to improve.
Fenugreek
Fenugreek can help you manage high blood sugar amounts, thereby improving your heart health and blood flow and, consequently, your libido. Additionally, it is also believed to enhance testosterone levels, although there is insufficient research on this.
Spinach
Spinach is full of folate, iron and magnesium, all of which support your heart health and blood circulation. The presence of these vitamins and minerals helps improve blood flow to the penis while also improving the levels of testosterone. You can also reduce the chances of erectile dysfunction.
Gingko
Gingko is another natural product often used in traditional medicines. The presence of nitrate in this herb can help promote blood flow in the body by allowing your blood vessels to maintain this flow. This can then improve libido and overall feelings of sexual desire.
Apples
Full of nutrients, apples are great for your health, including your libido. Vitamin K, potassium, fibers and polyphenols all tend to contribute to your cardiovascular function and blood flow, resulting in improved erectile function and libido. These nutrients also help manage bad cholesterol and weight levels.
Maca
Maca or maca root is another root ingredient that is a part of many traditional medicines that specifically work towards boosting your sexual drive and desire. Several studies are also in place to show that maca can improve erectile function and boost your sex life through regular and safe consumption.
Citrus Fruits
Citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, grapefruits, mandarins and others contain vitamins B and C in large amounts while also being full of folic acid and ascorbic acid. These elements result in improvements across the body, including stress reduction and blood flow, both of which can help your libido.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are wonderful for improving libido, particularly in men. This is because they contain lycopene, which helps improve blood flow while also improving fertility and testosterone levels. This can also do plenty of good to your prostate health, which is particularly important to maintain as you grow older.
Beets
Beets are vibrant and rich root vegetables that contain nitrates in large amounts. These break down into nitric oxide in the body, something which is quite essential when it comes to expanding blood vessels and allowing more blood circulation to your penis, thereby improving libido.
Chili Peppers
Chili peppers as well as other similar spicy foods and ingredients can do wonders for your libido. They contain a compound called capsaicin, which has a great impact on blood circulation. In addition, chili peppers also manage to boost the secretion of endorphins which can make you feel better.
Cauliflower
Cauliflower is a cruciferous vegetable and is full of benefits when it comes to your libido. It is useful in striking a balance in your hormonal secretion which can then make it easier for you to feel more aroused. Cauliflower can also improve the testosterone levels in your body.
Mussels
Mussels are a type of seafood that can serve as delicious natural aphrodisiacs. They contain certain kinds of amino acids like D-aspartic acid as well as the mineral zinc, both of which are useful for helping you achieve hormonal balance, with a specific push to certain sex hormones.
Tribulus
Tribulus is a plant that has well-known fruits, leaves and other parts of the plant that are often incorporated into traditional medicines. This could be a result of increased testosterone levels, but it is more likely due to a rise in nitrates in the body that promotes blood circulation.
Coffee
Coffee contains caffeine which is extremely likely to give you more energy while also resulting in an increase in your heart rate and blood flow. This can help boost your libido, but note that you should consume coffee in moderation. Too much caffeine might end up having the opposite effect.
Chocolate
Chocolates are rich and delicious and, reportedly, quite useful in improving your libido. The secretion of serotonin and endorphins can help boost your sexual desire, so go ahead and indulge in a bit of chocolate to help you out. Dark chocolate works particularly well compared to milk chocolate.
Saffron
Saffron has many antioxidants that can help improve your general well-being, including blood circulation. It is also rich in vitamin C and selenium that help with fertility and libido while also potentially improving testosterone levels. Erectile function can also improve.
Red Wine
You might have heard that red wine has some benefits for your heart, which extends to blood flow to various body parts, including the penis. It also helps you feel a bit more lively and energetic, not to mention that it contains a compound called resveratrol which can help with testosterone and erections.
L-citrulline
L-citrulline is an amino acid that helps promote the levels of nitric oxide in the body, which can then improve the flow of blood and oxygen. It also contains antioxidants. This is a common amino acid found in some natural supplements.
Watermelon
Watermelon is a great fruit to improve your libido given that it naturally contains L-citrulline. This can help improve the blood circulation in the body and to the penis, thus making it possible to have and maintain an erection.
L-arginine
L-arginine is another amino acid that your body can make good use of to produce nitric oxide. This makes it easier for you to maintain an erection while also improving the amount of pleasure and sensation you feel. Fish, meat and nuts are high in this amino acid, although many natural supplements contain it too.
Oysters
You may have already heard of oysters being aphrodisiacs. There is truth in this statement since they contain plenty of zinc and omega-3 fatty acids, both of which are useful when it comes to maintaining good testosterone levels while also increasing blood circulation to the penis.
It is best to eat these oysters raw as long as they are clean.
Communicate Well
You must learn to communicate well with your partner to help each other understand what works for you in bed and what does not. Consider trying new things out that you are both comfortable with and spend sufficient time on foreplay while also creating the mood in advance.
Apart from communicating healthily in bed, it is also important to communicate well at other times to improve and nurture your relationship as a whole. This will help make things more comfortable for you while also having a positive impact on your libido.
FAQ
Do I Need To Take Supplements To Improve Libido?
Generally, relying on natural foods and products is a better idea when it comes to improving your libido, as is making a change in your routine and lifestyle. However, if you visit your doctor and they recommend certain supplements to you, you can go ahead and take them.
In fact, many of these supplements also contain some of the aforementioned natural ingredients.
Should I Get A Health Check-Up For Low Libido?
If you think your libido levels have fallen drastically or are accompanied by other issues, you should definitely consider getting a health check-up, even if you just want to rule out potential concerns. This will help you seek the necessary treatment to improve your libido and sexual health.
Summing Up
Aging is quite a natural part of life and often comes with changes we may not particularly like. This includes a slight and gradual decrease in libido. For men older than 40, you can make some routine and lifestyle changes while also consuming some natural products to improve your libido and have a satisfying sex life.
In case these do not work, however, or you think the issue is more serious, you should visit a doctor who can then guide you on how to proceed.
