
Surprise! Researchers from the University of Bristol found in a study that booze really does make you find people more attractive than you would if you were sober. Yes, beer goggles are real— even though most of us have already learned this the hard way. Thanks, science!
Some participants in the study were given an alcoholic drink, while others were given a booze-free placebo. After that, they were shown images of human faces and of landscapes. The group that was given alcohol gave higher attractiveness ratings to both types of images.
The research team insists that even though the study makes everyone giggle, it also points to some important risk factors. When a person is more likely to think everyone around them is smokin’ hot, they’re more likely to have unprotected sex or be talked into something (sexual or otherwise) that they may be uncomfortable with.
According to the study, the part of the brain responsible for sexytime keeps functioning until we pass out, no matter how drunk we get. So the root of the change in attraction may have less to do with someone actually appearing hotter to you, and more to do with the fact that your decision-making skills and inhibits have melted (while your libido hasn’t budged).
This is around the time that I’d wonder whether people will test out this theory in bars “for research,” but actually, the study’s leaders will be doing exactly that. They’re extending their research and will carry out tests over four nights in Bristol pubs. Essentially, they’ll be getting paid to party – how’s that for a dream job?
[Photo of a drunk man via Shutterstock]