The Impact of Alcohol and Caffeine on Sexual Function
Diet is often neglected when people experience health issues. For example, you might not realise that dry and itchy skin could be due to a high-fat and high-sugar diet, and what can help you might just be an orange. Sometimes, a tiny change in dietary habits could turn things around. This article will explain potential impacts of alcohol and caffeine consumption on sexual wellness.
Welcome to the Holmen’s Health dietitian blog post, I am dietitian Oscar and here we talk about foods, drinks, snacks, desserts, anything that you can think of when it comes to eating. I personally love eating and am passionate about assisting others in finding their most suitable diet pattern while promoting maximum health benefits. Let’s take a look at how caffeine and alcohol affect sexual function.
Perceptions about types of food are often formed for different reasons. For example, apples are considered as healthy, fat is considered harmful for the heart, and vegetables are considered good for the gut. Some of these perceptions might be true, some might be partly true, and some might even be wrong. Regarding alcohol and caffeine, alcohol is commonly known as a stress reliever or ‘party essential’, and caffeine is commonly known for boosting energy. These perceptions have created various sayings and myths related to sexual function, but which ones are true, and which are false? Let’s first analyse the immediate and long-term effects of alcohol and caffeine, and we will see if they are beneficial or not for sexual function.
Long Term VS Short Term Effects and Impact of Alcohol & Caffeine
Alcohol
People react to alcohol differently; some might feel more relaxed, some might feel more sentimental, and some might feel more excited. According to World Health Organisation statistics, 12% of males in the general population consume alcohol before sexual intercourse. The reason why alcohol is often consumed prior to sex might be due to the perception that alcohol improves sexual pleasure, as emotions are highly altered by alcohol. However, how does alcohol actually impact sexual function?
Immediate Effects
- Erectile function is related to cardiovascular function, and any imbalance in it could significantly impact normal erection. Alcohol consumption dehydrates the body and increases urination, causing an increase in a hormone called angiotensin. Angiotensin restricts blood vessels, leading to less blood flow to the penis, making it harder to maintain an erection. This correlation is supported by Indian research that studied the effect of alcohol consumption on sexual dysfunction with 100 males, where 33% of the subjects reported difficulties in erection.
- Apart from cardiovascular function, neural function is also crucial to erection, as the brain and nerves coordinate the body by receiving stimuli and reacting to them. A study conducted in 2018 suggested that alcohol consumption affects the function of the central nervous system and slows down the process of receiving and reacting to stimuli. This might lead to low sensitivity of the penis. Is it a good sign? A bit of both. It might lengthen the duration of sexual intercourse, but it also might reduce sexual satisfaction.
Long-term Effects
- The reproductive hormonal system is regulated by the hypothalamic–pituitary– gonadal (HPG) axis, which is responsible for the secretion of a regulating hormone called gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). GnRH controls the production of one of the major sex hormones, testosterone. Alcohol consumption is found to inhibit the release of GnRH within the HPG axis, leading to lower levels of testosterone, which might potentially reduce sex drive and erectile function.
- Chronic alcohol concentration could also affect semen quality, including lower sperm concentration and a higher likelihood of abnormal sperm. However, most of the study results showing such a correlation were in groups with heavy alcohol consumption. A study conducted in China found a reduction in sperm concentration in 55 heavy drinkers, while another study conducted in Italy also found a reduction in sperm concentration and motility in 45 heavy drinkers. In contrast, a 2018 study observed a positive effect on semen qualities with moderate alcohol consumption, suggesting that a reasonable amount of alcohol might potentially improve semen quality.
Caffeine
There are many ways we encounter caffeine in our daily lives, such as in coffee, tea, chocolate, and energy drinks. Caffeine has been a good friend to me when I needed to stay focused or when I didn’t sleep well, but too much caffeine gives me a headache, so one to two cups of coffee work for me. However, some people might not tolerate even a tiny bit of caffeine, while others might have no effects even if they drink five or six cups of coffee. Similar to alcohol, we react to caffeine differently, and so do our sexual functions.
Immediate Effects
- The active substance of caffeine is called a methylated xanthine derivative (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine). It affects the cardiovascular system and the heartbeat mechanism. The consumption of caffeine can lead to stronger heart contraction, greater heart activity, increased heart rate, and strengthened heart muscle. All these factors would increase blood flow inside the body, and improved blood flow could potentially benefit erectile functions, including erectile hardness and erectile duration.
- Caffeine also changes how the brain normally works by targeting certain neural receptors to release more hormones called dopamine and noradrenaline. Both of these hormones enhance the feelings of wakefulness and alertness and reduce the sense of fatigue. These are evidenced by Brazilian research which discovered that caffeine consumption enhances athletic performance of cyclists by 3.3%. With a little boost in athletic performance, it might be possible to stay active a little longer during sex, as it can also be seen as a form of exercise.
Long-term Effects
- While caffeine may boost athletic performance, the fact that it helps you stay awake could lead to serious sleep disruptions. Excessive caffeine in the body can affect sleep quality, causing poor concentration, reduced attentiveness, and lack of motivation. Sexual desire could potentially decrease as a result of poor-quality sleep. American research suggests that consuming caffeine six hours before bedtime can have disruptive effects on sleep.
- In terms of psychological effects, long-term consumption of caffeine might be associated with higher levels of stress and anxiety. Recent research conducted in 2024 found that the effect on anxiety varies according to the dosage of caffeine: low consumption of caffeine would moderately increase the risk of anxiety, while high consumption would significantly increase the risk. Another research study conducted in the United Kingdom also showed an increase in stress with high caffeine intake. With high levels of anxiety and stress, the erectile process and ejaculation function could be interfered with, as well as the sexual drive.
Balance Is The Key
It is true that both alcohol and caffeine can have positive and negative effects on sexual functions. It is important to understand what effects they have on your body and how much you should consume. Here are some tips to achieve balance:
- Reasonable consumption: Everything we eat or drink should remain within a reasonable range, and this rule also applies to caffeine and alcohol. For the general population, 400 mg of caffeine per day or less is recommended, which is around three to four cups of latte. The recommendation for alcohol consumption is no more than 10 standard drinks per week, with one standard drink being 100 mL of wine, 30 mL of spirits, or 285 mL of cider.
- Monitor closely: Try monitoring your body’s response closely to see how caffeine or alcohol affects you. If you notice negative impacts on your sexual function, it might indicate that you are consuming too much and should consider reducing the amount.
- Seek professional advice: If you are persistently struggling with the effects brought by caffeine or alcohol, you should stop consuming them and consult health professionals, as there might be underlying issues that you are not aware of.
If you’re wanting support in learning how to improve your diet to support sexual function, learn more about our philosophy and services, please reach out to us! We work with clients virtually throughout Australia.
This blog post on the impact of alcohol and caffeine on sexual function was published May 2024.
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