Is it safe to have sex when you are intoxicated?

The experience of having sex with someone when you are sober is very different from that of making out when you are tanked up with alcohol or high on drugs. A study by Joseph Palamar and colleagues, New York University, published in the July issue of Archives of Sexual Behaviour, shows how you might behave in bed if you are intoxicated. 

You have lower standards for a sexual partner

According to the study, if you are drunk, you are more likely to settle for a sexual partner you wouldn’t dream of going to bed with when you were sober. The alcohol haze is known to make unsavoury men more appealing in character. Alcohol use is also linked to risky sex with strangers. 

You regret the episode

An episode of drunk sex typically leads you to wake up feeling terrible about yourself and with huge regrets about your uninhibited behaviour. According to the study, "The most commonly reported feeling after sex on alcohol was regret." 

It can make you sick

While alcohol can make you nauseous, dizzy and even lead you to pass out, being high on drugs can lower your desire to have sex or enjoy the experience since you feel too distracted. 

You feel more pleasure

This is not a recommendation for drugs, however, the study did report that while alcohol numbs sensations and a longer duration for sex, certain drugs “tended to enhance sensations" with women experiencing stronger orgasms. 

You indulge in risky behaviour

Drunk sex is very risky because it leads to poor judgement and might make you do risky things like having unprotected sex. It could also make you more prone to sexual assault. One out of 12 women in the study said that they were sexually assaulted when drunk.