The big-O? No
According to the Mayo Clinic, alcohol has more negative effects on sexual performance in men than in woman. This is due to the physiological effects of alcohol on the penis, making it difficult for a man to obtain and sustain an erection.Alcohol causes blood vessels to widen, and affect show blood reaches the penis. It is also a diuretic— making you need to urinate more often —and can lead to dehydration. According to the Mayo Clinic, this can result in increased levels of angiotensin, which is a hormone associated with erectile dysfunction.
A recipe for regrets
Drugs and alcohol can lower inhibitions and,in some cases, make you feel more confident than you may do sober. But the knock-on effect is making more rash decisions than you usually would. Drug and alcohol use can also result in poor sexual decisions, says professor Elna McIntosh, a clinical sexologist at Disa Clinic in Johannesburg. “Alcohol makes people far more likely to have (unsafe) sex… where people don’t take proper contraceptive precautions,” she says.It can also result in the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), due to unprotected sex or a lack of communication about one’s sexual health before having sex.
According to a 2016 study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, alcohol leads to impairments in sexual performance, reports Justin Lehmiller at the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University. The study also found tha talcohol was linked to “erectile difficulties,vaginal dryness, and (sometimes) falling asleep during sex”.
However, McIntosh says, there have been instances where “a very small amount of alcohol” has been shown to extend the time that it takes a man to climax, thus combating any slight tendency to experience premature ejaculation.” However, she notes that alcohol is not a treatment for the condition, which requires medical intervention.
“Alcohol is a major cause of erectile dysfunction,” McIntosh says, and it is often overlooked in younger people because they believe that alcohol’s impact on increasing sexual desire will contribute to an all-night-long rendezvous. Usually not the case.