2023-11-04 09:46:11
by Cristina Marrone
Small quantities of alcohol increase sexual arousal and lower inhibitions but if too much is consumed, the brain is no longer able to encode pleasure stimuli in both men and women.
No, drinking a glass of wine to relax and overcome problems to reach orgasm is not a good idea. At most just the opposite as underlined in an article on New York Times because alcohol, considered by many to be a powerful aphrodisiac, can actually affect sexual health. Catalina Lawsin, a clinical psychologist specializing in sexuality, underlined how alcohol has long been described as a crucial ingredient for romantic encounters: Alcohol relaxes, gives a certain sense of escape and makes you more uninhibited and people are convinced that drinking Alcohol increases the ability and capacity to experience sexual pleasure. But really? The reality appears to be much more complex.
What happens when you drink before having sex
There is practically no research on the topic. What data does exist, much of it from rat studies, says Dr. Lauren Streicher, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine who studies sexual dysfunction in women, suggests that small amounts of alcohol appear to increase arousal and decrease sexual inhibitions, but large quantities have the opposite effect and can cause arousal to cease and orgasm to be delayed or even prevented.
Brain mechanisms
To understand the mechanisms, we need to observe what happens to the brain when we drink. Alcohol releases dopamine, a feel-good neurotransmitter that researchers believe helps control cravings. At the same time, alcohol enhances the effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a chemical messenger that inhibits impulses between nerve cells, substantially slowing brain activity and making you feel more relaxed. Alcohol makes you feel more excited because it lowers your inhibitions, but it is actually a depressant of the central nervous system. In fact, when the concentration of alcohol in the blood increases, even following an occasional drink, the anxiety-reducing effect is lost and a general depression of the normal functions of the organism prevails as reported byHigher Institute of Health.
When alcohol becomes an obstacle
In practice, alcohol turns off the brain, including the prefrontal cortex (responsible, among other things, for activities such as evaluating the consequences of an action), the cerebellum (which controls coordination) and the autonomic nervous system (which regulates functions such as heart rate and breathing) says Regina Krel, professor of neurology at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine in New Jersey. Alcohol can hinder the brain’s ability to process sexual stimuli and coordinate muscle contractions, which are essential for achieving orgasm, added Catalina Lawsin, who underlines New York Times: Although initially drinking alcohol can help you relax and lower inhibitions, excessive consumption can interfere with the mechanisms that lead to intense pleasure and orgasm satisfaction.
How much does quantity matter?
Experts agree that drinking moderately (two glasses of wine for men and one for women) before sex generally does not cause problems. However, whether the effect of alcohol will be to reduce stress and make you more uninhibited or to hinder orgasm depends on how often you drink and how much you drink. Drinking a lot has been linked to erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation in men. But problems also exist for women. There research has linked high alcohol consumption to decreased sexual drive, vaginal lubrication, and difficulty achieving orgasm.
November 4, 2023 (changed November 4, 2023 | 08:45)
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