Low Sexual Stamina in Men and in Women: How to Cope?

As a man, performance problems may make you feel emasculated, frustrated, and incredibly uncomfortable. Having poor stamina can affect more than your mood; it can also wreak havoc on your relationship with your partner and your self-confidence.

Fortunately, if you find your stamina running low on date night, you aren’t alone. This issue affects thousands of men across the globe. It’s also a problem you don’t have to live with.

What causes stamina issues in men?

There are many possible underlying causes for low stamina, including:

Mood – Depression and low self-confidence are two common causes of poor sexual stamina.

Diet and exercise – Diet and exercise play a large role in the ability to perform sexually. If your diet is poor or you don’t participate in regular exercise, you could be causing excess plaques to form. This plaque decreases your blood flow and sexual energy.

Poor lifestyle choices – Drugs and alcohol can lead to many hazardous and life-altering conditions, including lowered stamina.

Aging – Low testosterone and decreased blood flow to the penis are very common conditions older men encounter. Both of these can have a significant impact on your energy levels.

Although not all causes of low stamina are preventable, there are treatment options available to restore your energy and help you experience a fulfilling, healthy sex life.

Low sexual stamina in women

You may be diagnosed with hypoactive sexual desire disorder if you frequently lack sexual thoughts or desire, and the absence of these feelings causes personal distress. Whether you fit this medical diagnosis or not, a doctor can look for reasons that your sex drive isn’t as high as you’d like and find ways to help.

In addition to asking you questions about your medical and sexual history, a doctor may also:

Perform a pelvic exam. During a pelvic exam, a doctor can check for signs of physical changes contributing to low sexual desire, such as thinning of your genital tissues, vaginal dryness, or pain-triggering spots.

Recommend testing. A doctor may order blood tests to check hormone levels and check for thyroid problems, diabetes, high cholesterol, and liver disorders.

Refer you to a specialist. A specialized counselor or sex therapist may be able to better evaluate emotional and relationship factors that can cause low sex drive.

How to increase stamina?

There are several steps men can take to increase their stamina. Some of the most common include:

Staying active and exercising
Eating foods that increase blood flow (onions, garlic, bananas, chile peppers)
Eating foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids (salmon, tuna, avocado, olive oil)
Reducing stress

For many, having an issue with low stamina is acute and easy to resolve. However, some factors contributing to the condition can be chronic and are more serious.

If you suffer from decreased stamina that does not improve with activity, diet, or stress, it’s important to analyze other potential factors. See a health specialist who can check for underlying conditions and offer the best custom treatment plans.

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Treatment for men

If you are one of the millions of men dealing with age or diet-related decreases in sexual performance, shock wave therapy may be the solution you’re seeking. Shock Waves can help stimulate the growth of new blood vessels, resulting in long-term benefits for both you and your partner.

Using low-frequency soundwaves, the therapy breaks apart the plaques that hinder proper blood flow to the penis. These plaques build up over time with age or can be the consequences of dietary choices. By breaking down the plaques, shock wave therapy restores your energy and enhances your performance.

The treatment gives you the ability to take back control, allowing you to experience better, longer-lasting erections, and participate in active and healthy sex life.

If you want to experience better erections, boost your stamina, and restore your confidence, you can also benefit from testosterone replacement therapy. However, this is prescribed only to men with officially diagnosed low T or hypogonadism.

Treatment for women

Most women benefit from a treatment approach aimed at the many causes of this condition. Recommendations may include sex education, counseling, and sometimes medication and hormone therapy.

Sex education and counseling

Talking with a sex therapist or counselor skilled in addressing sexual concerns can help with low sex drive. Therapy often includes education about sexual response and techniques. A therapist or counselor will likely provide recommendations for reading materials or couples exercises. Couples counseling that addresses relationship issues may also help increase feelings of intimacy and desire.

Medications

A doctor will want to review the medications you’re already taking, to see if any of them tend to cause sexual side effects. For example, antidepressants such as paroxetine (Paxil) and fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem) may lower sex drive. Switching to bupropion (Wellbutrin SR, Wellbutrin XL) — a different type of antidepressant — usually improves sex drive and is sometimes prescribed for women with sexual interest/arousal disorder. Along with counseling, a doctor may prescribe a medication to boost your libido.

Hormone therapy

Dryness or shrinking of the vagina, one of the hallmark signs of genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM), might make sex uncomfortable and, in turn, reduce your desire. Certain hormone medications that aim to relieve GSM symptoms could help make sex more comfortable. And being more comfortable during sex may improve your desire.

Possible hormone therapies include:

Estrogen. Estrogen is available in many forms, including pills, patches, sprays, and gels. Smaller doses of estrogen are found in vaginal creams and a slow-releasing suppository or ring. A doctor can help you understand the risks and benefits of each form. But, estrogen won’t improve sexual functioning related to hypoactive sexual desire disorder.

Testosterone. The male hormone testosterone plays an important role in female sexual function, even though testosterone occurs in much lower amounts in women. Testosterone is sometimes prescribed off-label to help lift a lagging libido.

Prasterone (Intrarosa). This vaginal insert delivers the hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) directly to the vagina to help ease painful sex. You use this medication nightly to ease the symptoms of moderate to severe vaginal dryness associated with GSM.

Ospemifene (Osphena). Taken daily, this pill can help relieve painful sex symptoms in women with moderate to severe GSM. This medication isn’t approved in women who have had breast cancer or who have a high risk of developing breast cancer.