Multiple factors affect human sex drive, including stress, illness, pregnancy, and others. Conversely, a person can engage in sexual activity without an actual desire for it. Psychologically, a person's urge can be repressed or sublimated. Ī person may have a desire for sex, but not have the opportunity to act on that desire, or may on personal, moral or religious reasons refrain from acting on the urge. In psychoanalytic theory, libido is psychic drive or energy, particularly associated with sexual instinct, but also present in other instinctive desires and drives. A person who has extremely frequent sexual urges, or a suddenly increased sex drive may be experiencing hypersexuality, while the opposite condition is hyposexuality. Libido can also be affected by medical conditions, medications, lifestyle and relationship issues, and age (e.g., puberty). Social factors, such as work and family, and internal psychological factors, such as personality and stress, can affect libido. Biologically, the sex hormones and associated neurotransmitters that act upon the nucleus accumbens (primarily testosterone and dopamine, respectively) regulate libido in humans. Libido is influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors. Libido ( / l ɪ ˈ b iː d oʊ/ colloquial: sex drive) is a person's overall sexual drive or desire for sexual activity.
For other uses, see Sex Drive (disambiguation).
