Sex Therapists Reveal The Most Common Sex Issues That Plague Your Sex Life In Your 50s — And Give Tips On How To Fix Them

Finding ways to alleviate stress may increase your desire for sex and make you happier and healthier overall. For example, Wise recommends daily breathing exercises to “access the healing power of the parasympathetic ‘restorative’ state.”

“Most of us spend most of our time in ‘fight-or-flight,’ which is when the body pumps out stress hormones that aren’t meant to be flooding us so consistently,” she said. “This perpetual state of hormonal stress erodes our sense of well-being and can put a kibosh on our sex drives, to boot.”

Take five minutes once or twice a day to do this practice. First, find a quiet spot to sit and “give yourself permission to be exactly as you are and for the moment to be exactly as it is,” Wise said. This is also known as radical acceptance.

“By giving yourself permission to start from where you are, you can loosen and soften a whole lot of the stress we accumulate when we resist what is,” she said. 

Then take a long, smooth inhalation through your nose and a long soft exhalation. 

“When you make your exhalation longer than the inhalation, your brilliant body shifts your nervous system into the restorative mode, your heart slows down, and your stress hormones decrease,” Wise said.

When stress crops up throughout the day, consider that your cue to slow your breathing. 

“You may find that this simple practice becomes a wonderful new habit that enhances overall well-being and helps you tune into your lust for life — both in and out of the bedroom,” Wise said. ”Remember, pleasure isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity for a healthy mind and body and a life worth living!” 

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.