At a Glance
- Levels of sex hormones can fluctuate throughout your lifetime.
- Learn the roles of progesterone, testosterone, and estrogen and sex drive
- See how experimenting with sex toys can boost your libido during times of low desire hormones.
Feeling less frisky than usual? Finding yourself too tired for sex these days, or just downright disinterested? It might not be you; if nothing else in your life has changed to affect your libido, natural fluctuations in sex hormones might be the culprit.
Desire and sex drive are personal and vary from person to person. Sexual desire levels can change drastically through the course of one’s lifetime, depending on a variety of exterior and interior factors. Changes in health, pregnancy, perimenopause, and age can all affect a person’s libido in different ways and make sex uncomfortable or uninteresting.
Understanding the Roles of Sex Hormones
Just because your body is changing doesn’t mean you can’t continue to enjoy intimacy or use silicone sex toys. Our hormones are a complex and sensitive chemical system, but they aren’t a mystery thanks to modern science. Hormone levels change over time and can fluctuate depending on stages of life, environment, and other underlying factors. From diet and environmental exposure to aging, desire hormone fluctuations are often out of our control, but there are ways to manage and live with these changes.
While the human body runs on many different chemicals to get your libido going, there are a few major hormones that work together to get your motor running. Primary sex hormones include:
- Progesterone: Fluctuates during a woman’s menstrual cycle; high levels can lower sex drive.
- Estrogen: Helps women with vaginal lubrication and sex drive to improve sexual comfort and health
- Testosterone: Primary sex drive hormone for both men and women; fuels arousal, stamina, and desire.
- Dopamine: Sex drive hormones that increase motivation and arousal.
- Oxytocin: The hormone released during orgasm and intimacy helps to bond and promote pleasure and connection.
How Imbalanced Desire Hormones Can Affect Your Sex Life
If you feel like you might be phoning it in in the bedroom, you’re not alone. Statistics show that 80% of women suffer from hormonal imbalance, which can mean lower estrogen and sex drive.
Lower estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone sex drive problems can have a negative effect on relationships, making intimacy difficult or nonexistent altogether. The reasons for a lower libido can vary wildly from person to person, so be sure to check with your healthcare provider to go over any underlying issues that may be affecting your sex hormones.
Lower Desire Hormone and Mismatched Libidos
During periods when you or your partner are experiencing fluctuations in sex hormones, there can be isolation between partners. According to a survey, 70% of women blamed perimenopause or menopause as a catalyst for their divorce. While many factors contribute to the end of a relationship, a loss of intimacy from one partner or the other can be a factor. Masturbation with silicone sex toys for both men and women during times when your partner is experiencing a difference in testosterone sex drive could provide interim relief.
If you feel like your sex life has lost its luster due to imbalanced sex hormones in your partner, be sure to approach them with sensitivity and kindness. Empathy will go a long way in the bedroom, and will help your partner understand that you both may be dealing with desire hormone issues. Remember that these imbalances are only temporary in some cases, and in most cases can be relieved through investigation, medical intervention, time, or self-care.
Finding Your Way Back Together
During and after periods of desire hormone fluctuation, it’s not uncommon to feel disconnected from your partner. This is in part because hormones like oxytocin haven’t been released between you to hit your internal reward system with those feel-good chemicals. Simple acts like hugging your partner every day can be the first step in stoking the flames of intimacy again.
Here are a few ways to reintroduce intimacy into your relationship after periods of fluctuating sex hormones:
- Date your partner: Get those feel-good chemicals boosted again with hand-held walks and candlelit dinners for two.
- Make touch a priority: Holding hands, rubbing shoulders, hugs, and other non-sexual bodily contact can be desire hormone boosters.
- Get sexy: Engage in dirty talk, watch romantic films, or browse an online sex shop together to turn a spark into a fire.
Boosting Your Arousal With Adult Toys
When individuals or partners are experiencing lower estrogen and sex drive, the thought of anything sexy might seem underwhelming. However, with an open mind, experimenting with adult toys for women and men’s sex toys can help boost arousal for those experiencing desire hormone issues.
If you or your partner are already doing everything you can to manage your fluctuating sex hormones, but still need a libido boost, give these at-home tips a try:
- Invest in a good water-based lubricant for use during intimate times.
- Play with a clit vibrator to improve sensitivity and arousal.
- Browse an online sex shop alone or with your partner and see if anything titillates you.
- Ask your partner to use fun sex toys for couples with you to lighten the mood and boost your libido.
- If lower testosterone sex drive is a concern, consider male cock rings to increase blood flow or realistic masturbators to help with stamina.
If you’re ready to step back into intimacy despite fluctuating sex hormones, dive into his and hers adult toys. Browse VSekreets’ selection of affordable sex toys for a sexy way to boost your desire hormone system.
