A passion fueled by infatuation seems more intense. Paradoxically, though, you feel more relaxed. With a heart seasoned by previous relationships, old flames and past heartaches, you already know your limits, capacities and needs.

As for the sex, it's more fun, relaxed and low-pressure. The older the instrument, as they say, the sweeter the music. On the other hand, maybe you and your partner don't miss particular acts of intimacy at all. Why not explore love's selfless side rather than just physical thrills?

Perhaps best of all, both partners are free from life's day-to-day responsibilities. No job. No children. Just one long arch of free time.

If you think this description of love among the elderly sounds too good to be true, you aren't alone. Amanda Barusch, a former professor at the University of Utah College of Social Work now teaching in New Zealand, had a few doubts as well as she began studying love and romance among the 50-and-over set.

Her skepticism turned to fascination, the sociologist said, after examining interview responses from 91 people ages 51 to 97, the majority of whom were widowed, followed by married couples and divorcees. While the health, economic and family complications of aging often intruded on romantic satisfaction, Barusch said her respondents "consistently reported that love improved with age."

"I kept looking for a natural cliff when romantic experiences became consistently different. I did not find one," Barusch wrote in the introduction of her new book, Love Stories of Later Life, which chronicled her study's findings.

Before launching her study, Barusch found an abundance of research on old people's sex lives, but a dearth of findings regarding the emotional aspects of their relationships. Given an ever-aging population, she knew her research had potential.

The idea that love endures at any age, regardless of age -- well, you don't need to be a university researcher to know that. "I've seen probably half a dozen or 10 couples fall in love," said Alice Carling, center supervisor with Salt Lake County Aging Services at the Sunday Anderson West Side Senior Center. "They're just as giddy as teenagers -- holding hands, grinning from ear to ear."

With nearly 1 in 5 U.S. residents expected to reach age 65 or older by 2030, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, romance among seniors is here to stay, aided not just by community gathering places such as churches and neighborhood senior centers, but online as well, with targeted sites such as Prime Singles, Senior Friend Finder and SeniorMatch.com.

One surprising element of Barush's research: In her survey, widowed women, in general, claimed they were less interested in marrying again. Yet that hardly means that recently widowed older men are at a disadvantage in the dating department. With 67 men per 100 women between the ages of 75 and 84, and only 40 available men per 100 women 85 and older, men have more partners to choose from, said Cherie Brunker, a geriatrician at LDS Hospital and faculty member at the University of Utah's school of medicine.

"I've had patients who don't like to say they were married again only one year ago," Brunker said. "When you ask them how long they've been married, they'll often include the years from their previous marriage as well. There's almost a feeling of shame, or that they shouldn't have an exciting romance."

While Barusch emphasizes that love after age 50 doesn't change much, according to her research, she relishes its important differences as well.

Seniors in her study talked more freely about the "agape" concept of self-sacrificing love, as opposed to its erotically focused cousin. One 87-year-old respondent embraced her role as caregiver during two marriages after her first husband died. Older lovers are also less likely to be restricted by gender roles, as they may have been in their younger years. Men, in particular, craved more emotional intimacy in their relationships.

In Barusch's book, she also notes that while older people on the whole tend to move and react with less speed, magnetic resonance imaging technology shows they use both hemispheres of the brain during cognitive tasks, as opposed to just one side more often used by youth. Medical researchers believe this translates into improved judgment when faced with thorny decisions and confusing perspectives -- a skill vital to maintaining and nurturing relationships.

Perhaps most thrilling for anyone who thinks love's embers never start fires later in life were Barusch's findings that people over 50 in new relationships "reported the highest overall romantic intensity," as well as "measures of physical and emotional intensity," compared with their younger counterparts in new relationships.

Love in later life brought lifestyle changes as well. She found seniors walking a nuanced terrain of romantic experiences that eschewed labels. For those who remained closeted in their youth, they might keep that protection in old age, as well. She found studies of nursing homes where women were able to share one boyfriend. Others senior couples happily "lived together apart," spending all their free time together while keeping separate living quarters. One woman in Barusch's study used the word "friend" to describe a whole range of her relationships with men, while couples reported diving into new sexual experiences or remaining chaste.

"People at this age aren't necessarily interested in labeling their relationships as 'committed' or 'dating' the same way people in their 20s or 30s do," Barusch said. "When you're in your 60s or older, the baggage is much lighter. It's a time of greater flexibility."

Much of that flexibility, she said, is prompted by the realization that time is growing short. Death, as a deadline, looms. A growing number of older women have no reservations about initiating relationships with younger men, Barusch said, even if they were raised with a different set of cultural mores. With time, greater flexibility also comes, because older people may already be used to taking romantic risks.

Regardless of age, certain risks remain. Seniors may not have come of age talking frankly about sex or sexually transmitted diseases, HIV or AIDS, but must take steps to protect themselves all the same when entering a new relationship. Depending on the sensitivity of their children, seniors may also want to be sensitive about sharing their enthusiasm for a new partner with family.

Researchers such as Barusch, as well as clinicians such as Brunker, agree that as more baby boomers age, relationships among the elderly will not only proliferate but become more demanding in terms of fulfillment. "The boomers are not a generation that generally settles for less," Barusch said. "We expect a lot from our relationships."