Alcohol and sex

Alcohol and sex deals with the effects of the consumption of alcohol on sexual behavior. The effects of alcohol are balanced between its suppressive effects on sexual physiology, which will decrease sexual activity, and its suppression of psychological inhibitions, which may increase the desire for sex.Men's sexual behaviors can be affected dramatically by alcohol. Both chronic and acute alcohol consumption have been shown in most (but not all) studies to inhibit testosterone production in the testes. This is believed to be caused by the metabolism of alcohol reducing the NAD+/NADH ratio both in the liver and the testes; since the synthesis of testosterone requires NAD+, this tends to reduce testosterone production.In women, the effects of alcohol on libido in the literature are mixed. Some women report that alcohol increases sexual arousal and desire, however, some studies show alcohol lower the physiological signs of arousal. A 2016 study found that alcohol negatively affected how positive the sexual experience was in both men and women. Studies have shown that acute alcohol consumption tends to cause increased levels of testosterone and estradiol. Since testosterone controls in part the strength of libido in women, this could be a physiological cause for an increased interest in sex. Also, because women have a higher percentage of body fat and less water in their bodies, alcohol can have a quicker, more severe impact. Women's bodies take longer to process alcohol; more precisely, a woman's body often takes one-third longer to eliminate the substance.Drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA), also known as predator rape, is a sexual assault carried out after the victim has become incapacitated due to having consumed alcohol or other drugs. The unofficial term 'date rape drug' came into widespread usage in the early 1990s through U.S. news media reports. Researchers say that unlike other types of rape, DFSA is not a crime of physical violence: it is a crime of sexual hedonism and entitlement. A date rape drug, also called a predator drug, is any drug that can be used to assist in the execution of drug facilitated sexual assault (DFSA). The most common types of DFSA are those in which a victim ingested drugs willingly for recreational purposes, or had them administered surreptitiously: it is the latter type of assault that the term 'date rape drug' most often refers to.Alcohol intoxication is associated with an increased risk that people will become involved in risky sexual behaviours, such as unprotected sex. It is unclear whether the two are linked or the personality types of people who often drink large amounts of alcohol are more tolerant of risk-taking.'Beer goggles' is a slang term for the phenomenon in which consumption of alcohol lowers sexual inhibitions to the point that very little or no discretion is used when approaching or choosing sexual partners. The term is often humorously applied when an individual is observed making, and later regretting, advances towards a partner who would be deemed unattractive or inappropriate when sober. The 'beer goggles' are considered to have distorted the 'wearer's' vision, making unattractive people appear beautiful, or at least passably attractive.