Dr David Edward gives 7 top tips to spice up your sex life

The good news is there are plenty of small but significant changes you can make to help redress the balance in your lifestyle, helping to improve your love life and overall health.

1. Take a mini-break 

Getting away from the stresses of daily life can get you in the mood for sex

Get away from the factors causing stress – even if it’s just for an evening and within the UK. Indeed, travelling far from home could add to your stress if you’re already suffering.

Taking a bath or shower together then massage and sex, then a home prepared candle-lit dinner can really make a difference. 

2. Eat the right foods 

Salmon with your salad for lunch is a healthy option to help boost your sex drive (stock image)

Salmon with your salad for lunch is a healthy option to help boost your sex drive (stock image)

‘When people are time-poor their diet is often nutrient-poor’, explains clinical nutritionist Suzie Sawyer. ‘And this creates a vicious cycle: increased stress levels, low energy and flagging libido.

‘Therefore, increasing foods that naturally boost levels of the so-called ‘happy’ hormone, serotonin, also helps to create feelings of calm and better mood.

‘Breakfast on oats with some berries and cinnamon, have some salmon with your salad for lunch and a stir-fry with turkey strips for dinner. 

‘These foods help to increase the amino acid tryptophan which boosts serotonin in the body.’

3. Make time for a lunchtime stroll  

How you feel about your body affects how you feel about sex. An unhealthy diet and lack of exercise may cause you to have a poor self-image, so improving these is a good place to start. 

Even taking a 30-minute walk around the block at lunchtime increases your daily activity levels, which in turn can boost mood and self-esteem.

4. Talk to each other

If a deadline is looming, working late might be a must, but it’s important to prevent resentment creeping in from your partner. 

Sending the occasional cheeky text message from work can often be all it takes to help maintain the sense of emotional closeness that is so important to sustaining a healthy sex life.  

5. Ban the booze

Alcohol is what’s known as an ‘anti-nutrient’ as it can deplete the body of essential nutrients, especially those needed for energy production and stress reduction. 

Drinking too much alcohol can have on your sex-life, say experts (stock image)

Drinking too much alcohol can have on your sex-life, say experts (stock image)

So over time, drinking can become a vicious cycle which will inevitably impact your sex drive. Frequent alcohol consumption can also lead to lowered testosterone levels in men, and in turn lower libido.

6. Go herbal

Scientific research led by Dr Edwards, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine and also the journal Phytotherapy Research, has shown that rhodiola rosea, a herb used for centuries to relieve stress and boost energy, can also help boost low sex drive in both men and women caused predominantly by stress. The supplement is available on the high street from £6.99. 

7. Boost your sleep  

Prolonged nights of poor sleep leads to irritability and low mood – and tiredness will also suppress sex drive.

If your sleep is poor quality, there’s lots of truth in the old wives’ tale of having a milky bedtime drink before you hit the pillow to encourage the release of melatonin, our sleep hormone.

Combining that with half a banana, and you should find your sleep really improves. Also, rather than asking your GP to prescribe sleeping tablets which can make you feel groggy in the morning, try a natural herbal alternative ideally containing valerian and/or passionflower.



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