Tips For a Healthy Libido

“[Libido], in my opinion, is a vital sign and can be just as important as drinking water and eating food!”

Libido is important for our health as humans! It is often left in the dust, or not even talked about in a visit to your doc. But, in my opinion, it’s a vital sign and can be just as important as drinking water and eating food! So let’s wipe that dust off and get into the nitty-gritty.

There’s many reasons to be feeling like your desire or sexual fuel tank is a bit low. A few extremely common reasons for low libido include fatigue, stress, distraction and feeling too busy. Do any of these sound familiar? They all make sense, if you’re too tired or too stressed to even think about sex, then how the heck will you be able to get in the mood? Well here are some tips to consider trying if you’re finding that your desire is fizzling out:

1. Manage stress

• Stress can really tank the libido. Whether it's because our mind is too pre-occupied or because the stress has made us too tired to even consider intimacy, this is a common reason for low libido.

• Stress = cortisol. When we are feeling stressed and we secrete more cortisol than what is appropriate, this can mess with our sex hormones including estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. All of these play a crucial role in libido and stimulating desire. Stress is normal and necessary to keep us alive, but like most things, too much can be a bad thing.

• What to do about it? Do things daily that bring you joy, indulge in practices such as grounding, meditation or journaling, exercise, get into nature, prioritize sleep, work on boundaries. Herbal adaptogens and nervines can help with the adrenal cortisol rhythm and calming stress. 

• Herbal adaptogen examples: ashwagandha, rhodiola, panax or Siberian ginseng, schisandra and others.*

• Herbal nervine examples: lemon balm, passionflower, kava, oat seed, vervain and others.*

• *As these herbs have varied actions & are not right for everyone, always check with a qualified health care practitioner before trying these.

2. Exercise regularly

• Exercise helps enhance libido in several ways including: increased blood flow (including to those downstairs areas), reducing stress, enhancing body image & confidence in the bedroom, increases energy and helps sustain a healthy hormonal balance.

• If fatigue and/or stress are contributing to low libido, then exercise can do wonders. This will increase physical energy and stamina to give you some extra oomph when you get into the bedroom. Plus it can do wonders for confidence as well, another common reason people turn away from intimacy.

• Proper exercise helps with healthy hormone levels. Weight lifting in particular can ramp up testosterone which is a key player in libido. Exercise also helps with healthy estrogen and progesterone levels as well as keeping cortisol at bay (as mentioned above).

3. Stimulate the mind

• Ok, this might be one of the best recommendations that I have for helping to stimulate desire! With our busy lives and the stress that can constantly surround us, sometimes we may just need a bit of an escape and a distraction from all of that stress to get into the right frame of mind.

• If you're having a difficult time even thinking about intimacy, then you might need a creative space for just THAT. Consider reading romance or erotic novels to get your head in that gear and allow the imagination to roll. If you're feeling up to it, you can even journal or write your own creative stories. This will stimulate your mind and get you into the right mindset and out of that busy, stressed mind.

• If you have a partner, you can talk about different ideas, or even write them down for each other or even throw them into a hat and pick one out!

• Note that online sites and videos can have a massively negative affect on libido AND the mind - so that is not what I'm talking about here.

4. Hack nutrition

• Eating healthy in general can help with libido by increasing energy, reducing stress and enhancing your overall sense of well-being.

• Avoid ultra-processed foods as they can disrupt hormones. Foods that contain seed oils, high sugars, corn syrups, food dyes, etc can be inflammatory and lead to a host of health issues that can also reduce libido.

• Avoid plastics as much as possible. Plastics contain chemicals that we refer to as “xenoestrogens,” which can mimic estrogen activity in the body and cause a whole load of hormonal issues in both men and women. It’s extremely important to never heat up food or beverages in plastic containers as this releases even more of these chemicals that leech into the food or beverage. These endocrine disrupting chemicals will still leech into food and beverages even at cold temperatures. My advice is to get rid of any plastic tupperware, bottles or mugs and avoid to-go coffee mugs or foods when possible.

• Aphrodisiacs - these are thought to be helpful for a few reasons. Some foods have minerals or constituents that can increase libido by increasing sex hormones like testosterone, such as oysters and pumpkin seeds due to their high zinc content. They may also mimic the look of our reproductive organs or stimulate our senses of smell and taste. It could also be the atmosphere that is set up when we are consuming these foods that play a role in setting the mood.

5. Explore yourself

• Sometimes desire can be low because your intimate life isn't as satisfying as you hope for or it seems too difficult to reach the "destination." This could be because you aren't completely clear on what you like and what you want. Exploring yourself and trying new things can help you discover what you desire and what really gives you pleasure. Sometimes we need to study the map before we try to take off to our destination - or else we may get lost and feel like we want to give up!

There are many reasons that you may be experiencing a low libido and these are just a few. If you feel like you’re doing all the right things and you’re still struggling to ramp up your desire, it may be time to talk to your qualified healthcare practitioner! There may be things going on under the surface that need to be investigated and addressed. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of docs out there that don’t recognize the importance of a healthy libido and intimacy, so try to find one that understands. It’s such an essential part of human nature and it shouldn’t be ignored when we are discussing health.

*Disclaimer: This is intended for educational purposes only and does not constitute as health advice.