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![Couple smiling in bed. Personal lubricants are good for men, too. Couple smiling in bed. Personal lubricants are good for men, too.](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/home-family/sex-intimacy/info-08-2013/better-sex-lubricant-lube-castleman/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/container_body1/container_body_cf/container_image/articlecontentfragment/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/home-and-family/sex-and-intimacy/2013-07/740-couple-bed-sexual-lubricants-men-women.jpg)
Lubricants boost the sexual pleasure of lovers of all ages — and genders. Marty Klein, Ph.D., a sex therapist in Palo Alto, Calif., says he recommends lube "to both members of every couple all the time." For men as well as women, as Klein puts it, "Wetter is better."
You can demonstrate how lubricants enhance lovemaking without removing a single article of clothing. Try this:
- Close your mouth and dry your lips.
- Run a finger lightly over your lips, paying attention to how it feels.
- Now, lick your lips and your fingertip.
- Run the moistened finger lightly over your moistened lips.
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Notice the difference? The sensation was heightened in Step 4, wasn't it? Indiana University researchers found much the same thing in a survey of 2,500 women, who rated sex with a lubricant as more enjoyable. And as the survey respondents' age went up, so did their satisfaction with lubricated lovemaking. A similar survey, this one of 1,874 men, linked lubes to another pleasure measure: They enabled the men to have sex of longer duration.
Best news of all? Lube improves sex immediately.
So why does such a thin slice of American lovers use it? Annual U.S. lubricant sales total just $165 million. Meanwhile, the nation spends more than twice that on condoms ($430 million) and six times as much on vibrators ($1 billion).
Why older men need the lube tube
Older men usually face two sexual challenges: arousal and erection. Although the media and Big Pharma focus almost exclusively on the latter, arousal issues can be equally problematic. Until around 50, many — OK, most! — men feel horny much of the time. After 50, by contrast, the sight of a shapely bod no longer automatically excites the beholder. The first time this happens, it leaves you feeling confused and apprehensive: confused because it's such a radical break from the past, apprehensive because you start to fear for your sex life.
Relax. Arousal is still possible — it's just no longer fast. As men age, their genitals become less sensitive to erotic touch. For this reason, arousal requires more extended caressing. Lube to the rescue! It intensifies erotic touch, allowing older men to get aroused and enjoy sensual pleasure.
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