BBC reports coffee 'boosts female sex drive'

by cynthia yoo | December 11, 2007 at 03:01 pm | 1378 views | 14 comments

I happen to drink a lot of coffee...a lot. So this article catches my eye.
As I read further, I realize the headline is a bit misleading. The study, so far, has only been conducted on female rats.

In the latest research, scientists gave 108 female rats a moderate dose of caffeine before a mating test to determine if the caffeine had any effect on female behaviour.

They found that administration of caffeine shortened the amount of time it took the females to return to the males after sex for another mating session.

But the study also stated that the sex drive boost would only likely happen in people who do not drink coffee regularly.

Lead researcher Dr Fay Guarraci said: "These rats had never had caffeine before. In humans, it might enhance the sexual experience only among people who are not habitual users."

Then combine that finding with the statement from the British Coffee Assocation that argued people would have to drink 10 cups of coffee in one go to get the same effect (presumably the 'human' equivalent of the amount given to these female rats).

So it seems, contrary to the headline, coffee may be good for your heart and memory, but for you libido? Not so much.

Well, I drink it for the taste anyway.

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candidusmaximus

at 15:32 on December 11th, 2007

So that's why they all go to Starbucks. May caffeinated rats chase us all this Christmas.:))

candidusmaximus

at 15:34 on December 11th, 2007

good stuff:

cynthia yoo, I like this story. It's good stuff.

wiryodisastro

at 20:00 on December 11th, 2007

cute article... all the reason why we all should drink coffee...not regularly though (because according to the article it won't affect you if you drink regularly :D)

cynthia yoo

at 20:13 on December 11th, 2007

wiryodisastro...i think you have more caffeine-related stories in you! cute caption to your photo!

rainypete

at 20:50 on December 11th, 2007

I can see I'm going to have to keep an emergency coffee pot by the bed for my non caffeinated wife!!

matte

at 22:02 on December 11th, 2007

maybe because caffine keeps them awake and well, sex might help them to relax....

Starving Artist Ink

at 22:09 on December 11th, 2007

I'd better watch myself when I pour myself a lovely cup of coffee at the office...

Rob Peters

at 23:32 on December 11th, 2007

good stuff:

What a weird little study. Of course a rat all hooped up on caffeine is going to hump more. I'm not so sure that proves caffeine is a libido-enhancer though. It proves it's an energy-enhancer, but I'm pretty sure that's well-documented.

Thanks ever so much Cynthia Yoo of Vancouver!

cynthia yoo

at 00:58 on December 12th, 2007

What was interesting about the original article was that headline screamed out "coffee boosts female sex drive!!!" Then as you read further, paragraph by paragraph, you realize that "zee strong brew" of the headliner argument gets diluted into rather tepid stuff, with every counter-fact by counter-fact, 'till you're left with a rather unsatisfying decaf nescafe...

Whew writing that rather tortured sentence makes me go for an evening cup...

Barry Artiste

at 04:10 on December 12th, 2007

good stuff:

cynthia yoo, interesting article, blind taste tests showed people could not tell the difference between decaf and regular coffee,so what does that say about sex drive? What I know it to say is the Mind is the biggest sex organ. Of course living in Vangroovy where there are Starbucks on every corner the sight of the everyone in the morning standing with a vaccous stare into space while clutching their coffee latte in a "Kung Fu death like grip" speaks volumes on how coffee Keeps us Alive in the morning! I cannot live without it, sex anyone can have, but to open the fridge in the morning and be greeted by an empty coffee can bring on Visions of Hell. Good stuff though

cynthia yoo

at 05:14 on December 12th, 2007

hey barry, i think we're getting more creative(?) w/ our grammar, spelling&punctuation as we go! despite our rob peter's recent article on the merits of tidy grammar, i say nay! let's dive into messy creative lingo, unfathomable to everyone but a chosen few!

k~that sounded pretentious...i settled for evening tea instead of coffee...sigh..

Barry Artiste

at 06:04 on December 12th, 2007

Thanks Cynthia, Good thing I did not use the word "Vapid", in referring to Decaf as some may well have thought I was being tasteless in my edacious desire for dark columbian coffee as my morning wake up call. Of course never one to be witty, but only to inform the masses to satiety, whereas offering a brief respite from their dreary lives. God I kill me sometimes, sooooooooo anyways on my English language and Grammar, well being of Irish descent and born and reared (oohh I said the word "Rear", how Naughty, yet salaciouly provacative) in Quebec City and a Jesuit College student, English was never my strong suit, but French. Of course I do try to entertain as well as inform. But alas Cynthia, you should have seen me years ago when I would do Shakespeare in the Park as Gonzalo in the Tempest, Yep, ahhhhh, Laughs O Plenty, Butchering Shakespearian English was my forté. Of course I have always been (In Private Life) Monty Pythonesque in my intellect and mannerisms as Monty Python was the only english show on PBS Television I watched growing up in order to learn English in a very francophone world, much to the detriment of me poor sainted Irish mother.

xxfezzaxx

at 14:25 on December 12th, 2007

good article n guess what?? i need my caffeine now.. ;)

Annaaa (not verified)

at 11:46 on July 24th, 2008

I always knew that good ole morning coffee was making me horny. I bet it does though.