Alcohol and Premature Ejaculation: Can It Make It Better or Worse?

What Is Premature Ejaculation (PE)?

PE happens when a man ejaculates earlier than his partner would like during sex.

International guidelines from a unified study generally define PE as ejaculating within 1 minute of having sexual intercourse. As a comparison, some scientific journals report that average ejaculation time for men hovers around 5 to 7 minutes, though the overall range is wide - lasting anywhere from one minute to one hour.

For many men, PE is a common problem across the globe. In the U.S., it is reported that about 1 in 3 men aged 18 to 59 years old have problems with PE. As many as 1 in 5 men have also experienced difficulty with PE at some point in life.

While PE can be caused by many reasons, most of which are often psychological, physical health issues may also be a culprit.

Psychological causes that might contribute to PE:

• Depression
• Anxiety about sexual experiences
• Early sexual experiences|
• Sexual abuse
• Negative body image
• Relationship problems

Other conditions that might contribute to PE:

• Underlying erectile dysfunction
• Penis shaft that is extra sensitive to stimulation
• Hormonal imbalance, such as oxytocin or luteinizing hormones
• Chemical imbalance of neurotransmitters, such as serotonin or dopamine
• Inflammation and infection of the prostate or urethra

We know climaxing early can be frustrating and can reduce the enjoyment of your sex life. But rest assured, while many men might feel they have PE, experiencing it every now and then is usually not a cause for concern.

Only if these early orgasms start to interfere greatly with your sex life and cause distress, should you then consider talking to a doctor. Don’t be vexed, for there are medications or sexual therapy to help with lasting longer.

At Noah, doctors on our platform are happy to assist you if you are experiencing difficulties with ejaculation. You can begin your journey by filling in an online evaluation here.

How Does Alcohol Impact Ejaculation?

A drink or two can ease you into the mood for some love-making. In fact, it may even increase sexual desire and arousal, making those sparks of attraction ever-so-irresistible.  

But unfortunately, there’s a catch.

Alcohol, as we’ve come to understand, is a depressant that interferes with your physiological and cognitive capacity. When under the influence, booze can mess with your boners in several ways and impact ejaculation.

1. Erectile Dysfunction

Although modest alcoholic drinking can get things going, downing one too many can cause temporary erectile dysfunction (ED). In some cases, regular heavy drinking can also cause permanent ED.

Overdrinking before sex can lead to what is known as a “whiskey dick” for men. Essentially, it is an alcohol-related erectile dysfunction (ED), where you might find yourself having weaker erections or having trouble maintaining an erection.

During sexual arousal, the brain fires messages towards the penis to signal an erection. Alcohol can slow these signals, resulting in ED.

Whiskey dick is especially prevalent during heavy drinking or binge drinking and studies have shown that the heavier you drink, the likelier it is that you’ll find it harder to ejaculate.

2. Decreased Nerve Stimulation

The penis head or the glans has over 4,000 nerve endings and for a good reason. The more nerves, the more sensitive it is to physical stimulation, which helps you achieve a bigger and better orgasm.

However, alcohol dampens our ability to feel sexual stimulation. As with all other senses, we become stimulated when our brain transmits signals to our body and vice-versa.

Alcohol slows down the firing of these hormones and neurotransmitters involved in sexual arousal, causing trouble in seeing, smelling, touching, and even tasting. The more we’re cut off from our senses, the way in which we process information gets slower too.

Having one too many drinks before sexual activity can cause alcohol-induced orgasmic dysfunction. This not only makes it take much longer to climax, but you will also likely achieve a less intense orgasm - if you’re even able to do that.

3. Reduced Blood Flow To Penis

When consumed at high levels, alcohol turns from being a vasodilator to a vasoconstrictor. This means that it shrinks blood vessels and increases blood pressure, cutting off blood flow to the penis.

This can lead to delayed ejaculation - a condition in which it takes men an extended period of sexual stimulation to ejaculate. For some men, they might be unable to ejaculate at all.

When you experience delayed ejaculation, you might find yourself needing over 30 minutes of sexual stimulation just to climax. This can lead to fatigue, physical irritation of the genitals, or distress, reducing the sexual enjoyment of your bedroom experiences.

If you find yourself having trouble lasting, you can talk to a doctor. There are medications out there such as Priligy, an FDA-approved drug, that have proven successful in treating men with PE.

Priligy is a prescription-only pill from a doctor. It contains dapoxetine, an active ingredient that is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), often used in the treatment of anxiety or depression.

Priligy works by boosting serotonin levels in the body, causing a delayed reaction in parts of the brain that controls ejaculation. This prolongs the time it takes to orgasm.

At Noah, doctors on our platform can help you with premature ejaculation issues. Make sure you consult a licensed medical professional before you take medications like Priligy, as they can interfere with certain health conditions.

To find out more, click here to see how you can start lasting longer in bed.

How To Last Longer In Bed

While alcohol is often a precursor to sex for a lot of men, you don’t always have to indulge yourself in that whiskey bottle to get yourself in the mood.

Staying sober can empower your sex life more than you know it. Here are some ways to improve your sex life without the need for booze.

1. Foreplay

Foreplay is any sexual activity right before you dive into intercourse. When done right, foreplay can be the hottest and heaviest thing for you and your partner.

Physical foreplay such as kissing and nibbling, especially at the neck and around other sensitive areas can trigger a release of love hormones. These hormones such as oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin can increase feelings of euphoria, creating a stronger bond between you and your partner.

Initiating sexual arousal by teasing your partner can also be a great way to set the mood. Dimming the lights, turning on some romantic music, and putting on a slow sexy striptease for your partner can easily heat things up real quick.

Foreplay is great when done right, so don’t skip out of it. For some, it can even be better than intercourse.

2. Sex Toys

Sex toys are a great addition to the bedroom. While they aren’t for everyone, sex toys have many solid benefits to spice up your sexual experience.

Vibrators, dildos, plugs, sensation play toys - there are a ton of different types of toys that you can use out there. Feel free to experiment with what’s comfortable for both you and your partner, but be sure to consider the size and shape if you want to use it during penetration.

3. Use Lubrication

Lubricants are a simple, but effective way to last during sex. By reducing the physical friction, lubricants can increase sexual experience and pleasure for both you and your partner.

To use lubricants, squeeze a small amount into your hands and warm it by rubbing with your fingertips. They should not be applied directly to the genitals.

4. Use Condoms

By using condoms, you can increase the time taken to ejaculate. Condoms decrease sensitivity around the penis, allowing you to last longer.

In addition, condoms can help reduce the likelihood of unwanted pregnancies and reduce the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.

5. Try The ‘Squeeze Technique’

The ‘squeeze technique’ is an easy behavioural technique used to prevent ejaculation near climax.

Similar to ‘edging’, where you stimulate to the point of ejaculation before stopping and starting again, the squeeze technique involves squeezing the penis tip near climax to prevent ejaculation.

By squeezing the tip using your fingers, you reduce the impulse of ejaculation. According to Lloyds Pharmacy, you should squeeze for about 10 to 20 seconds until the impulse to ejaculate fades. After releasing the squeeze, wait around 30 seconds before returning to stimulation.

These cycles of stimulation allow you to last much longer and give you a stronger, more intense orgasm when it finally comes down to it.

The Takeaway

As the above list is not exhaustive, it’s clear that there’s no need to involve alcohol in order to have an intimate and wild sexual experience.

While alcohol can definitely make things a little more thrilling when it comes to engaging in sexual acts, make sure to set a limit on how much you consume as it can increase your risk of experiencing ED and PE.

Remember to pace yourself when it comes to alcoholic drinks, and respect the boundaries of others. Don’t coerce anyone into doing sexual activities that they don’t want to.

If need be, talk to a doctor about your sexual problems.

No one likes to experience PE issues and make them public. That’s why at Noah, we keep all things discreet - from consultations with licensed doctors to medications for the treatment of premature ejaculation.

With us, you can see the doctor from the comfort of your own home and have medications delivered to your door within 4 hours at free delivery.

All you have to do is complete an online evaluation so that we can best assist you. At Noah, we want to make sure that your sexual health journey is a smooth and worry-free one.