Study Finds Grandma's Having More Sex Than Before, Others Less

According to a new study, U.S. women ages 55 and older are enjoying more sex than women the same age a decade ago.

That isn't all, the study also reports that the numbers for those 35-54 have dropped slightly, so your grandma may be getting more action than you do.

Older women also say they're putting more thought and effort into their sex life, compared with women the same age in the mid-'90s, says Natalia Gavrilova of the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago which did the study. The biggest change was reported by those in their mid-60s to mid-70s.

Researchers compared responses in the mid-'90s from 725 women ages 35 to 54 and 507 who were 55 to 74 years old with responses by more than 400 women in each age bracket from the same survey done in 2004 and 2005.

Aging women consider themselves younger than did women of earlier times, Gavrilova says. Also, cultural changes have made them more open about their sexual needs and more interested in health, with sex seen as part of a healthy lifestyle.

Although the differences over 10 years aren't huge, they are significant and consistent, pointing to less fulfilling sex for women in middle age and more pleasure for older women, she says.

However, the study also finds that the biggest challenge for sexually interested older women is lack of a partner. At age 70, 35% of men don't have a partner vs. 70% of women.

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