Drinking Actually Does
Make You More Attractive

We're not talking about the beer goggles phenomenon. Though who hasn't blamed booze for making you hit on a person you may not have chatted up had you been sober? But it turns out just being seen drinking alcohol can make you seem more attractive to others—provided you only drink in moderation.

Researchers from Brown, Yale and the University of Houston examined the relationship between participants' drinking habits and their ratings of attractiveness of other beverage swillers. In the study—which will be published in the Journal of Addictive Behaviors in February—researchers found that social drinkers were ranked more desirable than any other category of drinkers (including heavy drinkers, recovering alcoholics and abstainers).

FYI

Researchers defined social and heavy drinking according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism guidelines.

FYI

Researchers defined social and heavy drinking according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism guidelines.

Chelsie Young, one of the authors of the study at the University of Houston, told the Yale Daily News, "I was interested in how we think about different types of drinkers—how drinkers are perceived. Consciously or not, you rate [people as] more appealing because they're more similar to you." Of course, heavy drinkers were considered the least attractive (as anyone who's been around a sloppy game of flip cup knows). But somewhat shockingly, teetotalers were seen as being even less attractive than recovering alcoholics.

So during a season when there are so many reasons to drink, you can rest assured that not only are you improving your health, you're likely improving your chance to score.