Sexual Health After Menopause: Using CBD to Increase Blood Flow & Arousal

Cultural taboos associated with sexual activity and women’s reproductive organs have concealed a vital fact of life: Women must prioritize and maintain their genital health, especially as they get older. Research shows that routine sexual activity — with or without a partner — helps to keep the vagina healthy, flexible, and strong. 

Just like calves, biceps, pectorals, or any other muscle group, as women age it becomes increasingly important to exercise the vagina – and have a good time doing it.

Why is Sex Good for Postmenopausal Women?

As social and cultural norms evolve, women approaching menopause are finally hearing about the importance of good sexual health from a variety of sources: friends, social media, TV doctors, or their own gynecologists and family physicians. These messages tend to emphasize the peripheral health benefits of sexual activity, which include, but are not limited to:

  • Cardiovascular health
  • Stress relief and mood stability
  • Strengthened immunity
  • Better sleep
  • Pain reduction
  • Pelvic floor strength
  • Reduced incontinence

But what about desire? As they age, many women say their sexual desire fades. This can be attributed to the loss of a partner, stress, sexual pain, depression, disease, and many other common challenges – not to mention that older women are often desexualized by the culture at large.

In the past very little importance was placed upon the need to reinvigorate aging women’s sexual desire. Fortunately, that may be changing – and the use of cannabinoid products is one of the most promising new strategies. Scores of perimenopausal and postmenopausal women report a dramatic improvement in their sex lives after using cannabinoids. 

How Do Menopause and Estrogen Affect Sexual Health?

During a woman’s reproductive years, her ovaries release a large amount of estrogen right before she ovulates, every menstrual cycle. Once her periods become less frequent, so do those surges of estrogen. Estrogen has a number of important functions, such as:

Sex after menopause can be complicated.

How Does Menopause Affect Libido?

Once those routine bursts of estrogen subside, many women find themselves disinterested in sex and devoid of sexual desire. This is a perfectly normal response. Sex after menopause can be complicated. There are several reasons why sex loses its appeal: 

  • Sex might not feel good when the skin lining the vagina gets thinner and produces less lubrication. 
  • With fewer acid-producing lactobacilli, postmenopausal women are more susceptible to infections. 
  • Without estrogen, vaginas become densely innervated. Pain-perceiving nerves and other nerves cut off blood flow even further. 

Sexual pleasure is just one of many things a woman can lose when her vagina atrophies. Genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) is a condition that causes vaginal tissue to become thinner, drier and more prone to inflammation. GSM affects more than half of postmenopausal women. As it gets worse, it can become painful to sit, walk or urinate. GSM also increases the risk for incontinence. 

How Can You Improve Sexual Health After Menopause?

Menopause is not a disease or disorder, it’s a natural condition. When estrogen production fades, the transition period can be made easier with the right tools and strategies. 

It is critical that postmenopausal women find new methods to a) keep blood flowing to the vagina and b) improve the condition of the tissues in that area. Many doctors will first recommend that their menopausal patients stock up on moisturizers and lubricants. According to polls and studies, most women find that applying a moisturizer three times a week will promote a moist vaginal environment, while lubricants help to maintain regular sexual activity. 

Engaging in sexual activity on a regular basis is a critical component to sexual health for several reasons: 

  • Arousal triggers your vulva and vaginal tissues, causing them to swell with blood. This induces a healthy cycle wherein oxygen is delivered to the area and toxins are removed.
  • Sex keeps vaginal skin healthy, improving its elasticity and capacity for natural lubrication.
  • Arousal and orgasm can boost levels of androgens and other useful hormones. 

All available scientific evidence points to this truth: Perimenopausal and postmenopausal women who are sexually active experience less vaginal atrophy. This applies to all women, whether a partner is involved or not. Women should purchase a good, natural moisturizer and lubricant (pH balanced).  

However, for some women the moisturizer and lubricant make it possible to have sex, but that doesn’t address their loss of sexual desire. Fortunately there are tools to assist women struggling with arousal as well. 

How Can CBD Help With Sexual Arousal?

Even for women with a robust sex life similar to that of their premenopausal years, their vaginas probably receive less oxygenated blood than they once did. Without estrogen to assist, women must find new techniques to generate blood flow throughout the pelvis. 

Menstruation, sex, and menopause are among the most popular reasons that women use CBD products. In addition to treating other symptoms of menopause, more and more postmenopausal women are using CBD to improve the frequency and quality of the sex they’re having – solo or with a partner. Here’s why: 

  • The natural compounds in cannabinoids are potent vasodilators. This means they relax/widen blood vessels, allowing for easier blood flow. 
  • When plant-derived cannabinoids (especially in oil form) are applied directly to the vulva, they encourage blood to flow into the tissues.  

This boost in blood flow can yield exciting new sexual arousal and catharsis. Many women who use cannabinoids on their vulvas report stronger, more pleasurable orgasms, while others experience an overall boost in all sexual sensations. And increasing blood flow to the vagina promotes wellness on all fronts. 

How Do You Increase Blood Flow to the Vagina?

Clitoral stimulation and sexual fantasy can increase blood flow to the vagina in ways that pelvic floor contractions and exercises alone cannot. Women seeking new solutions to enliven their vaginal blood flow should experiment with sensual materials to activate their fantasies – like vibrators, erotic fiction, or any media that inspires the imagination. Many women have found success experimenting with extended foreplay, like full-body sensual massage or gentle oral and manual stimulation. Try any of these in combination with CBD products to maximize potential for satisfying, healthy sex. 

For evidence that these activities are sending restorative blood directly into the vagina, one need only touch and observe its different areas. There are visible, physical signs that healthful blood flow is underway, such as a somewhat engorged clitoris and expanded inner labia. This is especially true during extended lubricated massage and suction.  

It’s important to remember that there is no shame in learning about your body at any age. Fortunately the old stigmas are rapidly disappearing, liberating young and old alike. More than ever, women are asserting their right to a vigorous, guilt-free sex life and all its accompanying health benefits—before, during and after menopause. With or without a partner, women should feel free to experiment in a safe environment and discover – and meet ­– their own unique sexual needs.