Eroticism as a hormetic stimulus in health and ageing

Abstract

Eroticism in later life is, on the whole, a taboo subject, and the stigma attached to expressions of sexual intent by older people is widespread in most cultures. However, sexuality and eroticism have an important role to play in maintaining healthy ageing. Sexuality is an essential aspect of our biology and its effects have repercussions in systems and organs other than the sexual. In this paper I review the importance of developing a sexual-erotic element in later life, an element that is intimately coupled with the phenomenon of hormesis. In hormesis, there is biological benefit following exposure to a mild stimulus or challenge, whereas exposure to a higher dose of the same stimulus becomes detrimental. Innovative sexual stimulation can be seen as a hormetic opportunity to initiate beneficial effects on the entire ageing human organism. The intention is to show that, health benefits may be obtained not only through physical (exercise), nutritional, mental or pharmacological challenges, but also through sexual stimulation of the appropriate magnitude and quality. By enhancing erotic stimulation it may be possible to experience many other benefits spanning several domains such as the endocrine, immune, circulatory and neurological. In addition, within an increasingly information-rich world, sexuality may play a part in improving adaptation to various cognitive external stimuli originating from our technological ecosystem.