One too many cocktails or bottles of beer could very well be taking your sex life in the wrong direction. It’s common for men (and women) to consume beverages with alcohol to relieve stress or as an ice breaker at parties, lowering social inhibitions.
Men may mistakenly believe alcohol is an aphrodisiac. Not so. Drinking too much alcohol does not turn into good sex.
Sexual side effects of alcohol
Alcohol is a depressant. The more booze you have, the more your body systems will slow down, eventually affecting sexual performance.
If the goal is to enhance sexual desire, consuming one or two drinks can indeed relieve stress and anxiety, but there’s a downside when it’s over consumed. Abusing alcohol over an extended period of time can cause a numbing effect on the penis making it more difficult to achieve and maintain an erection.
Consuming one drink after another eventually leads to dehydration. When the body is dehydrated, blood volume is reduced while angiotensin, a hormone associated with erectile dysfunction, is increased. Men abusing alcohol long-term can unknowingly damage their nervous system negatively affecting signals required to cause an erection. The longer alcohol abuse occurs, the greater the likelihood of irreversible damage to the nerves in the penis.
Worse yet, men will find it harder to reach an orgasm or if they do, it won’t be quite the same fireworks sensation as expected.
How to ignite your sexual spark
Nothing should get between you, your partner and great sex – and that includes alcohol.
Instead of popping a cork or cap off a bottle of alcohol, start off a romantic night either avoiding alcohol altogether or put a lid on the amount you consume. The current recommendation for safe, moderate drinking is no more than two drinks a day for a man or one drink a day for a woman.
There’s a fine line when it comes to drinking alcohol. A drink now and then is okay, if that is your choice, but when it’s affecting your ability to function day-to-day, then you may have a problem. Recognizing when alcohol consumption has gone from occasional to abuse is your sign to seek out help.
Bottom line when in doubt, skip the alcohol and know that your sexual performance will be much better without it.