From Diet To Brisk Walks: Here’s How You Can Boost Your Libido During The COVID-19 Pandemic

Sex may permeate our popular culture, but conversations about it are still associated with stigma and shame in Indian households.

As a result, most individuals dealing with sexual health issues or trying to find information about sex often resort to unverified online sources or follow the unscientific advice of their friends.
To address the widespread misinformation about sex,  is running this weekly sex column, titled ‘Let’s Talk Sex’, every Friday. We hope to initiate conversations about sex through this column and address sexual health issues with scientific insight and nuance.

The COVID-19 induced lockdowns could have been an excellent opportunity for couples to reconnect and rekindle their romance. However, if studies are to be trusted, that has not been the case for many. During the past one and a half years of uncertainty, challenges in accessing healthcare and holding onto our jobs, or dealing with COVID and the loss of loved ones, we have all found ourselves to be exhausted, stressed, and anxiety-ridden. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that people have reported significantly lower libido in the past years, and their love lives have fallen to shambles.

People can’t have great sex when they are stressed. They need to feel at ease and safe. However, at this point, it is perhaps needless to point out that people have many apparent reasons to not feel at peace and be overwhelmed by anxiety. The loss of libido can happen for several reasons. Therefore, it is essential to identify the problem before we hunt for a solution.

If someone is experiencing lower libido post-COVID infection, they should immediately consult their doctor because there can be various reasons for it. However, in most cases we have seen that the dread and gloom of the pandemic has induced stress, and had a deep psychological impact, leading to higher levels of stress hormones, which are responsible for lower libido.

To remedy this situation, we need a healthy dose of happy hormones, namely dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphin, which make us feel positive, fill us with a sense of joy and relax us enough so that our sex lives get a boost.