A new study  has found that male libido actually peaks in a man’s 40s. 

For years, most people assumed that a man’s interest in sex begins to slowly decline once he reaches the age of 30. 

However, data published in the journal Scientific Reports revealed that 67,000 men aged 20 to 84 reported their interest in sex peaked in their 40s. 

On Moncrieff, sexologist Emily Power Smith said the report suggests that sexuality is more complex than hormones. 

 “Finally we're beginning to allow that men are more than just machines, that they don't just need testosterone to have libido, that men are thinking, feeling, sentient beings,” she said. 

“And that it's complex and layered for them the same as it is for everyone else - and I think that's a positive message.” 

One potential reason for the data, she added, is that men in their 40s became sexual beings in a very different era. 

While young men seem increasingly worried their performance in the bedroom will be discussed on social media, middle age men lack such inhibitions. 

“We grew up, I'm way over 40, but we didn't grow up with social media or with the ability to be outed [online] in the same way or spoken about,” Ms Power Smith said. 

“And so I think our brains develop differently and we have different abilities around risk aversion perhaps. 

“And all these generalisations are always a bit tricky, but we are generalising today.”

Main image: A couple holding a condom. Picture by: Alamy.com.