Sex in Your 60s? It's Actually the Best

If you’re single and in your 60s, the sex is probably pretty great.

That’s according to Match.com's annual "Singles in America" survey, which polled more than 5,000 single adults and found that the optimal age for sex among single women is 66. For men it’s 64, meaning that the Beatles may finally have the answer to those questions they posed long ago in that song about life at that age: “Will you still be sending me a valentine, birthday greetings, bottle of wine?”

While it may sound surprising to some that valentines and bottles of wine are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the bedroom habits of single 60-somethings, behavioral experts aren’t taken aback by the survey’s revelation. Much of sexual satisfaction, they noted, comes from being comfortable with yourself and your body, and being free from society-imposed expectations, which happens over time.

“Feeling comfortable with your body is a part of it,” certified sex therapist Emily deAyala recently told USA Today. “But older individuals also are more likely to speak up about what they like and dislike, which is a skill that is crucial for great sex.”

"The older we get, usually the more comfortable we are in our own skin, and know who we are and what we like,” deAyala added. “When you're younger, you are still figuring it out."

The dating site survey also found that 83 percent of all singles of all ages, races, genders and sexual orientations consider the two most important components of great sex to be a caring partner and an enthusiastic partner. And in a finding that even members of the free love generation may find eye-opening, that old “wait until the third date” adage is way out the window. More than one-third of respondents said they have had sex with a new partner even before a first date — and millennials are twice as likely to have had sex before a first date than any of the other generations.

Biological anthropologist Helen Fisher said the rules and mores surrounding sex have changed rapidly, fueled mostly by the rising popularity of dating apps and sites that make casual hookups as simple as a few swipes and clicks. Millenials, Fisher said, “are very career oriented, so sex before the first date could be a sex interview, where they want to know if they want to spend time with this person.”

The sex survey also looked ahead to the next frontier: A quarter of respondents said they would have sex with a robot, with men twice as likely to do it than women. Half of all those surveyed, however, said they’d consider sex with a robot to be cheating on their human partner.