Alcohol is a powerful drug. Just a bit can loosen you up to where you're comfortable asking for her number. But too much and you might not be able to get it up. Curse you, whiskey dick.
But why does alcohol do that?
Alcohol and your body
Alcohol is classified as a central nervous system depressant, which drives many of its beneficial and detrimental affects. Consumption of alcohol typically lower's one's inhibitions and increases confidence, making it easier for one to take risks. Modest consumption of one or two drinks for an average-sized male can also result in a modestly increased libido.
On the flip size, alcohol messes with your brain in some not fun ways. Too much alcohol can start messing with the signals your brain sends and receives in a big way, leading to poor body control and decision making. We all know you shouldn't drink and drive, but that reduced decision making capacity applies to all aspects of life. You may feel inclined to drink more, or to take unnecessary risks, or to go home with somebody you wouldn't normally consider (for better or worse).
This can be very dangerous, as you loose the ability to clearly and consciously give consent to engage in sexual activities, and to ask or recognize consent in others.
Physically, alcohol also messes with your body. In small amounts it can act as a vasodilator and case blood vessels to relax and expand. This is why you may feel warmer in your extremities as a result of consuming alcohol. But if you then drink in excess, it can start acting as a vasoconstrictor and shrink your blood vessels. Alcohol is also a diuretic, prompting your body to produce more urine in order to flush it out (your body views alcohol as a poison), and thus has dehydrating effects. The removal of water from your body reduces the amount of water in your blood, lowering your blood pressure.
Whiskey dick
All of this combined leads to the most frustrating aspect of alcohol's effects on the male genitalia: you struggle to get it up. The suppression of nervous system messaging mean that even if you're mentally all horned up your brain's signals to the blood vessels that supply your penis may not come through clearly, meaning the arteries supplying blood may not expand like they need to and the veins draining it may not constrict as is required to attain and sustain an erection. The reduced blood pressure also doesn't help.
The good news is that as you sober up your erectile function will return to normal. There's no set amount of alcohol that will trigger the temporary erectile dysfunction; several factors including your genetics, built-up tolerance, nutrition, hydration, overall health, body weight, and more feed into how your body responds to alcohol. Some men may experience trouble getting hard after just a drink or two, others may never have that issue no matter how much they drink.
Messed up orgasms
If you can get it up and keep it up, there's more to the alcohol minefield. The nervous system depressant effects of alcohol can really mess with your orgasms. The effects you'll experience are entirely dependent on your own biology and how much you've had to drink. Alcohol's inhibiting of brain messages means that your body may not ramp up testosterone levels as are needed to increase sex drive and achieve orgasm.
The physical sensations of sex may be reduced by the presence of alcohol, making it harder to feel properly stimulated enough to cum. Other men may find themselves experiencing premature ejaculation due to alcohol intoxication.
The more you drink, the more these effects may be amplified.
Bigger flaccid
On the plus side, the vasodilator effects of alcohol can temporarily increase the soft size of your penis. By relaxing blood vessels throughout your body, more blood will flow into your flaccid penis. With more blood in there it will expand somewhat to accommodate it.
Your balls may also hang lower as the increased blood flow increases the temperature and your scrotum relaxes to move them further away from your body.
This is a temporary effect and only associated with moderate alcohol intake. As the dehydration effects of alcohol kick in the process will reverse itself, and increasing levels of intoxication will kick in processes that inhibit blood flow instead.
Long-term effects
Long-term abuse of alcohol can have numerous damaging effects on the human body, including the male genitalia. Alcohol abuse almost invariably brings high blood pressure along with it, and that damages your blood vessels and makes it harder for them to constrict and relax as needed to achieve an erection. A 2007 study found that nearly three-quarters of men suffering from alcohol dependence report suffering from various forms of sexual dysfunction, including "premature ejaculation, low sexual desire and erectile dysfunction."
Alcohol abuse also has been associated with testicular atrophy — your balls literally shrinking. Long-term alcohol use suppresses testosterone production in the body, for which the testicles are responsible for 80-90% of. With less demand for testosterone, the testicles shrink. That shrinkage also reduces sperm production and quality. Don't abuse alcohol, kids, you'll shrink your nuts.
And that's not even broaching the other bodily problems associated with long-term alcohol abuse, including heart disease, cancers, a weakened immune system, memory problems, depression, and liver failure.
Drink in moderation
I'm not telling anybody here not to drink. Alcoholic drinks can be a fun addition to a night out, a nice treat after a long day at work, or just something you enjoy for the flavor. But you should know your limits and aim to stick to them. Even if you're planning for a rocking good time, it's still smart to keep your alcohol consumption to a reasonable level. It's also not a bad idea to have a friend there to check you in case you have a tendency to lose yourself in the sauce.
More to read:
Why your balls hang lower the older you get
“Old man balls” are a real thing, and there’s not much you can do about it. Time and gravity will always win in the end.
Everything that impacts penis size
The list is extensive. Hydration, stress, alcohol, temperature, smoking, hormones, blood pressure, posture, underwear, exercise, genetics… but why?
Hyperspermia symptoms, causes, and issues
Does it seem like you cum *a lot* every time? You might have a condition called hyperspermia.
Do taller men have bigger penises? Here’s what the science says
It might make intuitive sense that a taller guy would have a bigger dick. After all, he has longer legs and bigger hands and all that other stuff. But the science isn’t so obvious.
