Reviving Your Sex Drive: Tips and Treatments for Women with Low Libido

Amersi at her Santa Monica, California, office today.

• Yoga can improve flexibility and libido.
• Estrogen therapy is sometimes prescribed for low libido.
• Lifestyle adjustments can restore sexual interest.
• Sexual health clinics offer personalized advice.
• Female libido is a complex interplay of many factors.
• Some women find that fragrances or lotions increase arousal.
• Overexertion and fatigue lower sexual desire.
• Open conversations about desires improve intimacy.
• Libido may increase with new or stimulating experiences.
• Self-awareness about sexuality can enhance desire.

If your sex drive has gone quiet, you’re not broken.

Treat vaginal discomfort

Eat a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. Get enough sleep to regulate hormone levels. Address any underlying medical conditions and consider mental health support to help with stress management, relationship difficulties, and other concerns. Chocolate, oysters, garlic, and fenugreek are a few examples of foods that are often considered natural aphrodisiacs. Ginseng, L-arginine, ginkgo biloba, and maca are a few ingredients that Certain practices like yoga and acupuncture may also be beneficial when paired with a healthy lifestyle.

You’re pregnant or nursing a baby

Low libido may stem from a temporary increase in stress or other disruption to your day-to-day routine. Some medications, like antidepressants and hormonal therapies, can have a long-term effect on your libido. If you’re concerned about your libido and feel that it’s lower or slower than you’d like, you might find it helpful to consult with a healthcare professional. Spontaneous desire is exactly what it sounds like — Spontaneous. There’s no rhyme or reason for why it occurs. You’re likely under-rested, overstimulated, or hormonally out of sync, here’s how to shift it. Valentine’s Day has a way of turning libido into a talking point… whether you’re feeling it or faking it. If your sex drive has gone quiet lately, you’re not broken.

You’re likely under-rested, overstimulated or hormonally out of sync.

Can Nutritional Deficiencies Impact Libido?

Responsive desire, on the other hand, maybe a little more predictable. Touching yourself in a certain way — or asking your partner to — may trigger this aspect of your libido. Prescription medication may be able to produce a more immediate effect for people experiencing erectile dysfunction. It’s important to remember that everyone is different. It may take a little experimentation to find out what works best for you.

7. Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy

Low libido is a relatively common problem for many women (and men, too), and unfortunately, it’s a problem that tends to become more common with age. The good news is a decline in libido can be corrected — and often, the solution is simpler than you might imagine. At her practice in Santa Monica, California, Shamsah Amersi, MD, helps women manage libido issues with a combination of medical treatment and lifestyle changes to improve desire and satisfaction. In this post, learn some simple steps you can take to enhance your libido and support your sexual wellness. As a woman, your hormones change dramatically throughout your life, from puberty through the child-bearing years and into menopause. Low libido in women isn’t a personality flaw.

Medical providers featured in this article

Not surprisingly, those changes can affect not only your reproductive health but your sexual wellness, too. As you get older, estrogen levels decline. For many women, that change takes a toll on their libido, making them less interested in having sex and deriving less pleasure and satisfaction from sexual activity. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) replaces estrogen (and sometimes other hormones) no longer produced by your body, improving your sex drive by addressing multiple factors at once. Today’s HRT uses bioidentical hormones that work like natural hormones, with every HRT plan dosed and adjusted for each woman’s unique needs for optimal benefits.

What creates high libido?

Age also changes your vaginal tone and lubrication, leaving you with less pleasure and sometimes outright discomfort during sex. The vagina tends to become drier, and the vaginal walls may become thin and irritated, leading to pain during intercourse and sometimes bleeding afterward. Fortunately, vaginal dryness and discomfort can be treated with special lubricants designed to help restore and replenish natural fluids that decrease friction and make sex more pleasurable, too. Hormone-based vaginal creams and ointments help boost estrogen levels in the vaginal tissues for long-term benefits, particularly in women with vaginal atrophy. Along with HRT, another excellent solution for vaginal dryness and painful intercourse is MonaLisa Touch. Desire is shaped by your hormones, brain chemistry, stress load, sleep quality, blood sugar stability and whether your nervous system feels safe enough to switch out of survival mode.

MonaLisa Touch: Designed for intimate wellness

Boost your energy and libido by taking naps when you can and eating a healthy diet high in protein and complex carbohydrates. After you’ve argued with a partner, chances are you’re not in the mood to have sex. For many people, sensing emotional closeness is important to sexual desire. That means unresolved conflicts can affect your sexual relationship. It’s important to prevent resentment from building up.

What can cause your libido to be low?

Even if you’re taking a natural approach to boosting your libido, it still might be a good idea to consult with a doctor. They can help you identify any underlying conditions that may be affecting your sexual health. Your clinician may also be able to refer you to a mental health professional experienced in sex therapy or relationship counseling. Focusing on your overall health can support your long-term sexual wellness. Exercise regularly to increase blood flow, reduce stress, and improve mood. When cortisol is high, sleep is low and your mental tabs are permanently open, libido is usually the first thing to disappear… not because something’s wrong, but because your body is prioritising something else.

Make sexual wellness a priority

Yoga, meditation, and tai chi are definitely helpful, but so are simple activities like focused breathing and mindfulness practices that can be practiced anywhere—even in your office or during your commute. Along with stress management, it’s important to practice self-care daily. Set aside time daily to do an activity you enjoy, like reading, listening to music, or spending time in nature. Self-care improves physical health and emotional well-being, too. Putting yourself first—even for a brief period every day—helps you feel more centered and empowered while also improving levels of intimacy and desire.

Strengthening the pelvic floor to enhance orgasms

Many women find their low libido is due in part to relationship problems or issues stemming from their past. Counseling helps address those problems by providing a safe place to discuss your concerns and learn new strategies for dealing with them in a healthy, productive manner. Counselors can also provide strategies directly related to improving libido and feelings of intimacy, either through individual counseling or counseling with your partner. Sexual wellness is an integral part of overall physical and emotional health. If you’re dealing with symptoms of low libido, request an appointment online or over the phone with Dr. The problem is, most advice still treats libido like a switch you can flip. But if what you actually need is nervous system regulation, hormone support, or more sleep, those tips miss the point.

With Intimacy Coach April Maria’s expert guidance, we’re unpacking what causes low libido in women, what the evidence says about increasing sex drive naturally and which things are genuinely worth your time.

How to get help for low libido

Losing extra pounds helps rebalance hormones and restore energy while promoting greater self-confidence. Weight loss isn’t easy, but Dr. Ameris can help with medical weight-loss treatments focused on your unique needs and goals. Regular exercise improves your mood, increases energy levels, and boosts circulation, all factors that can benefit your sex life and your libido. Being active also helps reduce stress, making managing your weight easier.

Emotional connection strengthens sexual desire

To stay on track with an exercise routine, choose activities you love, like dancing, walking, or yoga. When possible, incorporate more activity into regular routines, like taking the stairs instead of an elevator or parking farther away from a store entrance to work in some extra steps. When you’re stressed, sex is usually the last thing on your mind. If you’re stressed regularly, it’s easy to see how your overall level of desire can be affected. Fortunately, there are ways to manage stress and improve your libido (and overall wellness, too). If you’re wondering how to increase libido in women, it helps to start by ditching the idea that libido is a fixed drive you either have or don’t.

Drop some weight

Developed by medical experts, this cutting-edge treatment uses laser technology to rejuvenate and revitalize vaginal tissue. The procedure is quick, virtually painless, and requires no downtime. Menopause, pregnancy, childbirth, and certain medical conditions can all erectile dysfunction tablets uk contribute to vaginal atrophy and sexual dysfunction. Common symptoms include vaginal dryness, painful intercourse, and urinary incontinence — but rejuvenation with MonaLisa Touch can alleviate these issues. MonaLisa Touch works by stimulating collagen and elastin production in your vaginal walls, which helps restore moisture and elasticity to enhance overall vaginal health.

Am I Normal: There's Pain During Sex

A few of the biggest reasons women turn to MonaLisa Touch are: It addresses vaginal dryness and pain with sex Vaginal dryness is a common issue, particularly among women who are going through menopause. As your estrogen levels decline during menopause, your vaginal tissues can become thin, dry, and less elastic. These symptoms often make intercourse painful, and they can also increase your risk of urinary tract infections (UTIs). Because MonaLisa Touch promotes tissue regeneration and natural lubrication, treatment can alleviate these symptoms and help you reclaim your sexual vitality." Being overweight can take a toll on your self-esteem, interfering with your self-confidence during intimacy. But excess weight also interferes with hormonal activity, decreasing your desire for sex and causing other issues, like fatigue and depression. April explains why this language can backfire.

• Physical activity increases blood flow to genitals.
• Women’s sexual desire may increase with intimacy.
• Vitamin E is believed to support hormonal health.
• Cervical health can influence sexual pleasure.
• Emotional intimacy enhances sexual desire.
• Good communication about boundaries improves sex.
• Chronic fatigue reduces interest in intimacy.
• Mindful breathing can heighten arousal.
• Women should explore personal preferences.
• Maintaining individual identity supports healthy libido.

“When we talk about ‘libido,’ it can be helpful to remove the word drive or ‘sex drive.’ Why?

because a drive implies that sex should be something urgent and biologically pressing, like hunger.” That framing makes low desire feel like failure, when it’s often just your body responding intelligently to context.

• Libido varies between individuals, no “normal” level.
• Chronic stress is a major libido suppressor.
• Using lubricants can enhance sexual comfort.
• Being comfortable in your body promotes desire.
• Open discussion about needs improves intimacy.
• Some women report increased desire during pregnancy.
• Fatigue from work reduces interest in sex.
• Support from partners enhances libido.
• Regular health check-ups can detect issues affecting desire.
• Sexual self-exploration can boost libido awareness.