Online Reporter
LONDON — Back in the 1990s, Alan Reeves would regularly perform on stage, stripping off to thousands as a member of The Dreamboys.
He was so sought after that he, along with his troupe of male dancers, popped up in the Spice Girls film, Spice World.
The then 24-year-old was, by his own admission, “a bit of a pin up”.
But by the time Reeves was in his 30s, he found himself in a very different situation — his mood was low and his libido had virtually disappeared.
“I just didn’t feel right,” he says.
Reeves, now aged 52, says his lack of a sex drive began to have a detrimental impact on his long-term relationship.
“We were going without sex for three, four months at a time. I just wasn’t interested,” he says.
“This kind of thing can cause couples to break up.”
Now a fitness and lifestyle coach based in London, Reeves began testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and says it has given him his libido back, turning him “from a grumpy old man” to feeling like he’s back in his 20s.
It just “felt phenomenal” he says.
And women too are turning to testosterone.
Rachel Mason, a 37 year old menopause blogger, says the hormone has been “amazing” for her energy levels, concentration, and libido.
Prescriptions for testosterone have surged.
The latest data from the NHS Business Authority, compiled by the Care Quality Commission, shows that prescribing rose by 135% between 2021 and 2024.
This increase comes at a time when sex drive across the UK appears to be waning. According to the National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal), which questions more than 10,000 people roughly each decade with new figures due out later this year, the frequency of sex has steadily declined.
In 1990, people aged 16 to 44 reported having sex an average of five times a month. By 2000, that had dropped to four times, and by 2010, to three. The next set of results are due later this year, and researchers expect the downward trend to continue — though they do not point to a singular reason for the decline.
Against this backdrop, a debate is gathering pace. Can boosting testosterone improve libido, or is much of the attention solely hype, profit, and placebo?
Diminishing sex drive
Alan Reeves’ experience of declining libido is just one example of a trend researchers say is becoming increasingly common.
“Over the years, we have noticed a drop across every demographic,” says Soazig Clifton, Natsal academic director.
“There are fewer cohabiting couples than there were in the 90s, for example, so that could help explain the reduction in sex drive, but even when we looked specifically at that group, there was a decrease.”
In fact, some of the steepest declines in sexual frequency were among older, married or cohabiting couples.
Clifton says it is difficult to say conclusively why sex drive seems to be declining.
“No data we have so far can really tell us with any confidence why, as a population, we are no longer having sex as much,” she says.
There are several studies which try to understand the reason, highlighting that the digital world could be a major factor, making it harder to switch off, as well as offering more choices of things to do.
Our stress levels are also generally higher than they were 30 years ago, which may be a factor, says Dr Ben Davis, a GP and sex therapist.
“People have so much going on,” he explains, “There’s tech obviously, but there’s also an increase in stress, depression, loneliness [ . . . ] all of these will add to a reduction in sex drives.”
And there is another possibility that has generated lots of interest online and become big business — that low testosterone levels could be having an impact on sex drive.
“Testosterone levels in men are definitely reducing,” says Prof Geoffrey Hackett, consultant urologist and member of the British Society for Sexual Medicine (BSSM).
“The rise in obesity, type 2 diabetes, the increasing number of people leading more sedentary lives — all of these reduce testosterone levels. And declining testosterone levels will be a factor in why our sex drive is diminishing.”
Testosterone ‘gave me my life back’
Melissa Green has been taking testosterone for nearly a year. She says it not only gave “her zest for life” back — it saved her marriage.
The 43-year-old says her low sex drive was having a huge impact on their relationship.
Being perimenopausal, her GP had already prescribed her oestrogen and progesterone through hormone replacement therapy (HRT) but Green says the GP would not test her testosterone levels, saying she did not need that extra hormone.
Eventually, Green went to a private clinic, had blood tests done, and was told her levels were low.
After taking her results back to her GP, she now receives some testosterone on the NHS, and a small top up through a private prescription.
“It’s given me my life back. In some ways, I feel like I’m back in my 20s,” she says, “I’ve got more energy, I feel sharper, and my sex drive has come back.”
Rachel Mason says when she posts about TRT she finds “many women are so scared to start testosterone, they worry they will become manly, develop facial hair, lose themselves.”
Along with increased body hair, TRT can come with a range of other side effects. For women, the most common effects are excess hair growth, acne and weight gain, which are usually reversible with reduction in dosage or discontinuation. Alopecia and deepening of the voice are rare with testosterone replacement.
For men, it can cause side effects such as weight gain, painful and prolonged erections, male pattern baldness and mood swings. It can also lead to lower sperm production which can impact fertility.
For men, testosterone starts to decrease by around 1% from the age of 30 to 40. NHS advice states that this is a normal part of ageing and is unlikely to affect libido.
For women, testosterone starts to decrease between the ages of 20 and 40 before it plateaus as they enter menopause.
It’s normal for levels to go down, but the question is how much that reduction has an impact on sex drive and overall wellbeing.
There are tests available, but it’s difficult to take accurate readings because, while testosterone is also vital for women, the amount needed is a lot less. And even if it is prescribed, it has to be given a “off-label” as there is currently no licensed treatments for women available on the NHS. — BBC
Peter Tanyanyiwa