25 or over? Research suggests your sexual peak might be behind you

Contemporary narrative often plays to the notion that women tend to hit their sexual peak in their later years, but recent research may have just turned that notion on its head.

A survey, conducted by Lovehoney, harnessed the opinion of more than 14,000 people, and established that 48 per cent of females said their libido was highest between 18-24 compared to just 25 per cent of men.

With countless TV shows and movies suggesting that a woman hits her sexual stride in her 30s and 40s, the research has certainly thrown a spanner in the works.

The findings suggests that female desire appears to tail off a little as they get older – just 18 per cent said their libido peaked between 24 and 30 compared to 24 per cent of men.

Interestingly, male libido appears higher throughout a man’s 30s, with 25 per cent of men saying it peaked in this decade compared to just 17 per cent of women.

And this isn’t the only aspect of sexual matters where the genders differ, with a disparity seen between perspective on libido and sexual compatibility.

48 per cent of women claimed a mismatched libido would cause them an issue in a relationship while only 41 per cent of men claimed the same.

However, 56 per cent of women said it was possible to bring different sex drives into alignment in the event of problems in comparison to 52 per cent of men.

Commenting on the findings, Lovehoney co-owner Richard Longhurst, believes the research makes for encouraging reading.

“What the results show is growing female sexual confidence which has been increasingly evident since the publication of Fifty Shades of Grey five years ago. It’s a welcome development.”

Elaborating on this point, he continued: “Women are happier to talk about how important sex is to them and how sexual happiness is the key to a successful relationship.”

“If sex is not working in a relationship, it is women who are keener to take the lead in fixing things, with more women than men saying the mismatched sex drives can be brought into alignment.”