Sexual desire is complex, with both psychological and physical components. Anxiety, relationship difficulties, health concerns, and age can all affect a person’s sexual desire. While a low sexual desire is not usually problematic, it can affect a person’s relationships and self-esteem.

A person’s sexual desire is impacted by everything from daily stress to hormone fluctuations, and our sex drives do notoriously decrease, to some extent with, age. However, it’s possible to maintain a healthy sex drive into one’s elderly years.

Having a low sexual desire is not necessarily a problem, but if a person wishes to boost their sexual desire, they can try a range of effective methods. So if you’d like to have a stronger sexual desire than you’re currently experiencing, and you want to know more about the simple and effective methods to improve your sexual desire, just keep reading – we’re here to help.

Learn about the different ways to increase your sexual desire

sexual desire

Manage your anxiety

It’s hard to feel sexual desire when you’re feeling anxious, and that translates clinically. In fact, anxiety has been proven to worsen sexual dysfunction. If you deal with anxiety and also are feeling anxious about sexuality, that can feel like a double-edged sword that impacts your sexual desire even further. In this instance, managing your anxiety at large should help regardless.

Women are particularly susceptible to the effects stress can have on one’s sex desire, according to research. Men, on the other hand, may use sex to relieve stress. Sometimes differences in the approach to sex may cause conflict. To relieve stress, consider meditation, or you can try participating in sports activities, practicing tai chi or taking a yoga class.

Get good quality sleep

Getting good sleep can improve a person’s overall mood and energy levels, and some research also links sleep quality to sexual desire. People who report longer average sleep times report better genital arousal than those with shorter sleep times.

Try natural remedies and herbs

There are several different natural herbs and substances that have been shown to alleviate depression and tiredness that have been shown to improve everything from sexual desire to virility and fertility. Some of the most popular include maca, ginseng, and ginko biloba. Want to try something easier? Next time you decide to sit down for a romantic dinner, add a little basil or garlic to your dish. The smell of basil stimulates the senses. Garlic contains high levels of allicin, which increases blood flow.

However, people should be wary of using herbal medicines without their doctor’s approval as some herbal medicines can interact with existing medications.

Eat healthy

Following a nutritious diet can benefit people’s sex drive by promoting good circulation and heart health, and by removing specific foods that can decrease libido. Eating a diet rich in vegetables, low in sugar, and high in lean proteins can help prevent disorders that affect libido.

Little evidence supports the effectiveness of certain foods, but there’s no harm in experimenting. Figs, bananas, and avocados, for example, are considered libido-boosting foods, or aphrodisiacs. These foods also provide important vitamins and minerals that can increase blood flow to the genitals and promote a healthy sex life. These foods are more centered around getting you key nutrients and in good qualities than magically “pushing your buttons” to want to be sexual.

Limit some foods

Foods that can improve your sexual desire are known as aphrodisiacs, while foods that can reduce it further are called anaphrodisiacs. Similar to how aphrodisiac foods can’t magically put you in the mood for sex, anaphrodisiac foods are equally unlikely to take you right out of that mood, but they can indeed contribute to take the sexual desire away.

Try to avoid or limit high saturated fats, as found in fried foods; soy, which can increase estrogen; polyunsaturated fats, such as vegetable oil; high sodium, which increases blood pressure and – in general – foods that require insulin to process, such as white flour and sugar (yep – alcohol included).

Work on your relationship with the partner

The longer you’re in a relationship, the easier it is to feel that the sexual desire between you and your partner or partners has fainted. This can be resolved by working on your relationship together. You can try sex therapy, couples therapy, date nights, going on vacation, or just performing more intentional touching together. The better your relationship feels to you emotionally, the more likely you are to want to be intimate with your partner.

Accept your body

Sometimes people experience low sex drive because they aren’t feeling comfortable in their bodies. Accept your body as it is, without trying to love it when that doesn’t feel possible, and be grateful for the functions that it can perform.