Women fancy their husbands less when they get to a certain age – has your sex life been affected?

A WOMAN’S desire for her husband plunges after she turns 40, a study found.

But libido stays otherwise healthy into the 80s, with levels of solo play almost unchanged.

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A woman’s desire for her husband plunges after she turns 40, a study found[/caption]

The research shows that females increasingly prefer to go it alone in the bedroom in later life.

One theory is they lose interest in a partner as fertility declines, and get more confident about their own needs.

In contrast, men continue to desire wives well into their 70s and 80s, with attraction levels undiminished.

Fellas are also less likely to wander after 50, said the study of 8,000 people by German and Scottish scientists.

Experts think men lose their youthful lust for attractive strangers as they focus on their family.

Writing in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, researcher Larissa Wieczorek, from Hamburg University, said: “It may be women’s sexual desire is influenced by family planning and is highest at ages where many women wish to become mothers.”

Sex therapist Phillip Hodson said the study also found partners struggle to communicate their needs.

He went on: “After 40, women often have the confidence and time to enjoy better sex while men don’t see the need to change things, often becoming ‘sex lazy’.”