Drinking alcohol in excess not only increases your chances of making a fool of yourself (or something you'll regret the next day) in public, it can also negatively affect your sexual performance, either to get started or to get there to climax.

You're not imagining it, alcohol actually shuts things down (you know what we're talking about) and makes it seem like your brain has cut off all communication with a very important section. Maybe it's your brain's way of reminding you that you're not in full control and can't act responsibly, or maybe it's just a "punishment" for drinking to excess.

This phenomenon is known as whiskey dick and it has two possible results, either it causes some type of erectile dysfunction, or it prevents you from reaching orgasm, no matter how hard you try. When this happens, you're probably going to feel a little embarrassed, but best sexologist in Delhi says there's something you can do about it and get back in action.

First things first, it is important that you understand why it happens and it is important that you understand the process of an erection. "First, there has to be sexual arousal, which requires focus," says Dr P K Gupta sexologist in Delhi. “Second, the brain needs to effectively send signals to the penis to tell it what to do. Third, there must be enough blood in the body to fill the penis, so it is important to stay hydrated. And fourth, the blood vessels need to relax, allowing blood to rush to the penis."

According to the sexologist doctor in Delhi, alcohol prevents each and every one of these steps from being carried out. "Alcohol is known as a central nervous system depressant, which means it slows down electrical activity in the brain and nerves. Third, alcohol is dehydrating: think about how much you urinate when you drink, your body is losing a lot of volume." he said . In addition, it also causes the blood vessels to constrict, and that prevents things from working the way they should. Even if there is no physical impediment, alcohol also prevents you from climaxing.

The worst part is that there is no type of alcohol that does not cause this problem , but this can be reduced somewhat if you choose mixed drinks such as wine, beer and other types of alcohol, instead of having shots or a whiskey in the rocks.

How can you avoid it?

Clearly, controlling your amount of alcohol is the most obvious option, you can drink to calm your nerves a bit, but not to the point where you lose control of your body. "Instead of binge drinking, enjoy the 'natural high' that comes from being really turned on," says sex specialist in Delhi Dr P K Gupta. "Great sex can take you to places emotionally that alcohol just can't. I like to say that drinking too much before sex is like consuming Cheetos before going to a great restaurant."

Dr P K Gupta also says that if they know they're going to drink, the recommendation is that couples have sex beforehand, so they can celebrate as much as they want without pressure. Furthermore, Dr P K Gupta also says that pills like Viagra won't work in this case "The pills won't work with too much alcohol as there isn't enough nitric oxide in the blood vessels to work". Nitric oxide is the molecule that gets blood pumping through the penis," he explains.

Does it only happen with alcohol?

Some experts say that drugs like cocaine and marijuana can also have the " blocking " effect that alcohol does, though more study is needed for marijuana.

What can you do in the moment?

Bohl says the solution is to hydrate and be patient (let the effects of the alcohol wear off for a bit), other than that there's not much you can do.

"Unfortunately, there's not much I can do for a quick fix other than that," he said. "The biggest problems are slowing down the nervous system and reduced blood flow to the penis, and neither is likely to improve until the body stops metabolizing alcohol and recovers."