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Taking magic mushrooms, LSD or other psychoactive compounds can improve your sex pleasure, feelings of arousal and feelings of attraction to your partner for up to six months after the psychedelic experience, a UK study has found.
“On the surface, this type of research may seem ‘weird,'” study author Tommaso Barba said when the research was published in the journal Scientific Reports, “but the psychological aspects of sexual function – including how we think about our bodies, attraction to our partners and our ability to bond closely with people—are all important to the psychological well-being of sexually active adults.
Researchers from the Center for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London asked 261 participants to complete a questionnaire before their psychedelic experience and four weeks and six months after it.
Two types of volunteers took part in the research – people who took psychedelics for recreational or wellness reasons and those who took part in a small clinical trial evaluating psilocybin (the ingredient found in magic mushrooms) for depression.
Participants who took psychedelics recreationally had a “significant” increase in their views of sex as a spiritual or sacred experience, satisfaction with their appearance, satisfaction with their partner, and their experience of pleasure.
Meanwhile, nearly half of the participants who took psilocybin reported improvements in sexual arousal, interest, and satisfaction with sex.
On the other hand, people taking the antidepressant escitalopram (brand name Lexapro) experienced decreased sexual function.
“We believe this is the first scientific study to explore the effects of psychedelics on sexual functioning,” Barba said. “Our findings suggest potential implications for conditions that negatively impact sexual health, including clinical depression and anxiety.
“This is particularly important given that sexual dysfunction, often caused by antidepressants, often results in people stopping these drugs and then relapsing,” Barba noted.
Barba’s team observed that neither of the twin studies found a significant difference in the participants’ perceived importance of sex after their psychedelic experience.
However, limitations of the study included the data being based on survey responses, and the participants being predominantly white, well-educated, and straight.
According to a 2022 survey, about 28% of Americans have tried at least one of seven psychedelic drugs, including LSD, psilocybin, ketamine, and ecstasy, at some point in their lives.
Colorado and Oregon have decriminalized psychedelic mushrooms, but Massachusetts voters rejected a ballot measure Tuesday that would have legalized five mind-altering drugs, including psilocybin, for adults 21 and older for therapeutic use.
The ballot question failed 57% to 43% with 96% of precincts reporting.
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