#healthyrelationships — Sex Therapy Blog Chicago | Tips & Insights on Sexual Wellness

WE ARE ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS FOR IN PERSON + TELEHEALTH APPOINTMENTS. CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED!

#healthyrelationships

The Top Sexual Health and Wellness Trends for Couples in 2025: Boosting Intimacy, Connection, and Pleasure

As we head into 2025, sexual health and wellness are increasingly seen as integral parts of overall well-being. Couples are becoming more mindful of their intimacy, with a growing emphasis on both physical and emotional connection. Sexual health isn't just about satisfying a physical need—it's also about fostering communication, trust, and exploring new ways to connect with each other.

What Are the Latest Sexual Health and Wellness Trends for Couples?

In this blog, we’ll dive into the latest trends in sexual health and wellness for couples. From mindfulness techniques to high-tech gadgets, there's a lot happening in the world of intimacy. So, let's explore what's making waves in the bedroom (and beyond) for couples in 2025!

Mindfulness and Meditation for Deeper Connection

In a world that's constantly busy, many couples are rediscovering the power of mindfulness to bring a new layer of intimacy to their relationships. Mindfulness isn’t just for stress management—when applied to sexual wellness, it’s a tool that helps partners become more aware of the present moment. It’s about tuning in to the sensations, emotions, and energy shared during intimate moments.

Practices like guided meditation or breathwork can help couples relax, reduce performance anxiety, and shift the focus from "how" to "what"—that is, focusing on the connection instead of worrying about technique or outcomes. This trend aligns with a larger movement toward prioritizing mental and emotional well-being in intimate relationships. Couples who practice mindfulness together often report a more connected, satisfying, and fulfilling sexual experience.

Pro Tip: Try incorporating a 5-minute guided meditation or a simple breathing exercise before being intimate to set a calm, mindful tone.

Sexual Wellness Tech: Gadgets and Apps for Modern Couples

Technology is transforming every aspect of our lives, and sexual wellness is no exception. Sex tech is rapidly evolving, offering couples new ways to enhance their intimacy through wearable gadgets, apps, and even virtual reality.

  • Wearable Devices: There are a variety of products on the market now that help couples monitor their sexual health, track arousal, and even create personalized experiences. Devices like smart vibrators or couples' toys synced to mobile apps allow for remote control, whether for long-distance couples or those looking to experiment in the bedroom.

  • Sexual Health Apps: Apps that offer personalized tips on improving sexual wellness, tracking libido, and even teaching tantric techniques are gaining traction. These apps often include features like guided sexercises, communication tools to help couples express their desires, and even tips for improving intimacy.

  • Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR): While still in its early stages, VR and AR are beginning to offer new ways for couples to explore intimacy. Imagine using VR to enhance shared sexual experiences, or even creating immersive environments that help couples feel more connected while navigating long-distance relationships.

Pro Tip: Invest in a high-quality couples' toy that syncs with your partner's device. It’s a fun way to create shared experiences, even when you’re not physically together.

Holistic Approaches to Sexual Health

Sexual wellness isn't just about what happens in the bedroom—it’s about what happens in the rest of your life, too. In 2025, more couples are embracing holistic approaches to enhance their sexual health. This trend takes into account the connection between physical, emotional, and mental well-being.

  • Herbal Supplements: Natural supplements like maca root, ginseng, and horny goat weed are becoming popular for boosting libido, improving energy, and enhancing sexual satisfaction. These herbs are often combined into supplements aimed at balancing hormones and improving circulation.

  • Aromatherapy: Essential oils and aromatherapy are becoming more common in sexual wellness routines. Certain scents, like lavender, ylang-ylang, and sandalwood, are known for their calming and aphrodisiac properties. Aromatherapy can create a relaxing environment, reduce stress, and improve emotional intimacy.

  • Nutritional Focus: Many couples are looking at their diets to improve their sexual health. Foods like dark chocolate, avocados, and nuts (like almonds and walnuts) are known for their libido-boosting properties. By focusing on a well-rounded, nutrient-rich diet, couples are learning to support their sexual wellness naturally.

Pro Tip: Try creating an at-home wellness ritual that combines aromatherapy with a natural supplement. It’s a relaxing way to get into the mood and enhance your energy.

Prioritizing Communication Over Performance

In a world filled with unrealistic expectations (thanks, social media), many couples are shifting their focus from "performing" in bed to communicating openly and honestly about their desires, boundaries, and needs.

Gone are the days of assuming your partner knows what you want without saying it. Open dialogue about desires, fantasies, and even discomforts is crucial for building trust and intimacy. Couples are also finding ways to talk about their sexual health more openly, whether it’s discussing contraception, sexual history, or boundaries.

Pro Tip: Regularly check in with your partner about what feels good, what doesn’t, and what both of you might want to try next. This kind of communication is key to deepening your bond and making sex more enjoyable for both parties.

Pleasure Mapping: Exploring New Sensations Together

Forget about the pressure to “perform” or “achieve” something specific. The latest trend in sexual wellness is all about exploring pleasure mapping—a process of learning about your own and your partner’s unique body and its responses.

This trend encourages couples to take a more explorative, non-goal-oriented approach to sex. It’s about discovering new ways of touching, stimulating, and connecting without the pressure of an orgasmic finish. By focusing on pleasure and sensation rather than performance, couples can experience a deeper, more satisfying intimacy.

Couples might experiment with different forms of touch, explore different areas of the body, or try out new techniques (like slow sex or mutual masturbation) to understand what brings pleasure. This process of exploration can make intimacy feel more adventurous and less about fulfilling expectations.

Pro Tip: Set aside a date night where both partners explore new touches, sensations, or positions without the expectation of orgasm. Focus purely on the experience.

Final Thoughts

Sexual health and wellness for couples are moving beyond traditional ideas of intimacy and performance. In 2025, the focus is on holistic well-being, mindfulness, open communication, and using technology to enhance connection rather than replace it.

Whether you're experimenting with tech gadgets, embracing new wellness practices, or learning how to communicate more openly, the key is to stay present, authentic, and engaged with your partner. As we move forward, one thing is clear: a healthy sexual relationship is about much more than just sex. It’s about connection, trust, and mutual growth.

Explore these trends with your partner and see how you can both grow together—emotionally, mentally, and physically. The future of intimacy is exciting, and it’s all about creating deeper connections and fostering wellness in all aspects of your relationship.

Want more tips on sexual health and wellness for couples? Stay tuned for more articles, or explore our resources to improve your intimacy journey today!

Ethical Porn: What Is It and How Do I Find It?

Porn is a great tool to enhance your sex life, but it’s also an ethical landmine. There is nothing inherently unethical about porn in a conceptual sense but unfortunately, in practice, the unregulated porn production industry is rife with exploitation and abuse. There’s sexual assault, racism, pedophilia, and unsafe working conditions, just to name a few. In light of this, there are some porn companies and individuals working to improve industry standards and produce porn ethically.

A hand holds a banana in front of an dark orange background. The banana has bright red lipstick marks covering it.

So what makes porn “ethical” or not? Ethical porn involves informed consent, performers treated with respect, safe working conditions, and fair compensation for those involved. These higher standards mean that ethical porn is rarely free, in order for the performers and crew to get sufficient pay. It’s important to remember that accessing porn is a luxury and privilege, not a right, and it shouldn’t be accessed at the cost of human exploitation.

In addition to production standards, ethical porn also often shows real sexual pleasure as opposed to it being over exaggerated, as well as portrays performers with diverse body sizes, races, sexualities, ages, and abilities. It’s important to acknowledge that because ethics are subjective, different people have different perspectives on what makes porn ethical. For example, some people might argue that fantasy content about dehumanizing storylines (e.g. hostile sexism), regardless of whether or not it was consensual, is unethical. The definition of ethical porn provided above covers the bare minimum requirements for ethical porn but beyond that, the definition is a gray area.

When looking for ethical porn, do research on the porn production company’s philosophy and standards. For example, some companies will include the consent process prior to filming so you can hear from the performers directly.

This might seem like a lot of work, particularly compared to simply typing in a keyword on PornHub and finding a video. And in a sense, it is easier, but it’s not better. Supporting ethical porn, especially when you pay for it, means you’re supporting sex worker rights and fair working conditions. Fortunately, we have recommendations and additional databases for accessing ethical porn for you! Here are a few of our favorite companies, excerpted from this Embrace Sexual Wellness resource page.

And if you’re still seeking more suggestions, here are a few resources:

It’s okay if you weren’t aware of the difference between ethical and unethical porn prior to reading this, and now that you’re equipped with this information you can support better porn and porn performers. Responsible porn consumption is an important part of a healthy sex life and hopefully these tips and suggestions will allow you to integrate it into yours. 

Looking to Enjoy Sex When Trying to Conceive? Here Are 4 Tips

Conceiving is an exciting time for a lot of reasons, but sexiness isn’t generally known as one of them. The process of trying to conceive for some can border on business at times between tactics like tracking ovulation cycles and scheduling sex. Regardless of efficacy, this definitely takes some of the fun and pleasure out of sex and it can start to feel like more of a chore than anything else. Having sex with a goal doesn’t mean it has to be devoid of fun! Here are some tips for enjoying sex while conceiving is on the brain:

1) Switch it up

  • Perhaps an obvious point, but an important one nonetheless, keep it fresh! Whether that means trying out sex toys, new positions, BDSM/kink, shared erotica or porn, new times of day, or another tactic, keeping it fresh will help retain the excitement that sex brings.

2) Try to enjoy the journey even though the motivation behind the sex is destination-oriented

  • When you’re having sex more frequently than you might otherwise, it’s tempting to want to cut to the chase and skip the foreplay. All this will do in reality is diminish your enjoyment, and potentially make it harder to have sex at all; for instance, if you can’t produce lubrication because you haven’t had enough foreplay, penetration might not work at all. All this is to say that foreplay is worth the time and will make sex feel less like a chore. Furthermore, it will help you feel more connected to your partner and more at ease.

  • A related point is to try to have both “goal oriented” sex for your conception journey and additionally, sex just for fun. If all your sex is goal oriented, the stress and pressure begins to be associated with sex might serve to discourage you from having it.

3) Spontaneity versus scheduling

  • There are pros and cons to spontaneous sex versus scheduling sex. Spontaneous sex might feel more natural and less pressured, while scheduling sex allows for synchronicity with fertility cycles. Ultimately, it will depend on the personalities of the people in the relationship which one works better, but leave the door open for a combination of both (or at least try not to get stuck in the thought that one is empirically better than the other).

4) Spend some time apart

  • This might seem counterintuitive to your ultimate goal but in fact, time apart will allow you both to have more “me time” to care for yourself. Conceiving to have a child is not only a physically process but an intensely emotional one and you owe it to yourself to care for yourself properly. Additionally, too much time together can be suffocating and make it hard to feel sexy when the time comes, so do yourself a favor and spend time alone.

Congratulations on your decision to try to conceive, and hopefully some of these tips will help you ensure that the journey is as enjoyable as possible while getting you where you want to be! If you continue to struggle to enjoy sex while conceiving and it becomes an issue, consider speaking to a sex therapist like one of the professionals at Embrace Sexual Wellness.