Breaking the seal...

My roommate asked me a question over a tower (yes.. tower) of blue moon and she wondered why alcohol makes you pee and what does breaking the seal mean.. So.. let's do this.

We have a few variables here.. the affect of alcohol on the body, the signal to the brain telling you that you have to pee (or void is what science nerds would say) and the formation of urine from the kidneys. Which is to blame? The answer is they aren't sure.

One theory is that alcohol inhibits the release of an important antidiruetic (limits urine formation) vasopressin. The kidney's job is to filter toxins from the blood, excrete it through urine and to maintain the the body's water and solutes (ions like chloride, sodium and potassium- these ratios are a VERY big deal.. directs all neurological functions and metabolism.. more or less, but more on that later). The kidneys filter at least 200 quarts a day of blood when healthy (that's 800 cups). Now, when the body needs to conserve water (not getting enough water- dehydrated) the body releases a hormone (can you guess?) vasopressin (as mentioned previously) or so called ADH (antidireutic hormone). Now, how does alcohol affect this? The physiology is not defined, but it has been studied that when you consume alcohol your water to salt ratios are not the same.. changing your urination patterns. The body is unable to filter the same way and more liquid leaves the body as waste (which can actually be very damaging). Also, the body's ability to adjust your urine (with the release of ADH) is gone and so you are just letting the kidneys go nuts with the filtering. Thus, when you drink.. you are going to be peeing... often.

Another theory involved the muscles involved when you relieve yourself. One person suggested that alcohol reduces inhibitions psychologically, which is necessary to keep your muscles contracted. In a related theory, one person suggests that you need more alcohol to stay hydrated then water so your bladder fills up stretching the muscles in the bladder that sends a message to the brain saying 'Hey, I have to pee.'

Now.. breaking the seal is thought to be the dilation of your internal sphincter (asssphinctersays what?) which is part of a muscle group designed to hold in pee (involuntarily controlled- autonomic nervous system) and once it is open it is harder to close it especially if something like alcohol is causing an increased rate of urine formation.

Well.. that is all I have. I didn't find any real studies confirming any of this information, but they are educated guesses from various sources on the web. Let me know if you want some of the articles. Until next time, (as Sara's dad always says) You don't buy alcohol.. you rent it.

Put THAT away!: Can Men Control Their Arousal?

As both sexes can know unwelcomed...um...boners are awkward. Super awkward. I know most girls assume that this an uncontrolled response. Sexyness = erection. However, what if men can control it?

Then they'd be liars and or too lazy to bother.

Researchers showed men 16 random clips of which 8 were erotic and 8 were funny featuring comedian Mitch Hedberg (to remove the accidental sexy factor). The participants were then ordered to control their response to certain videos while freely watching others. They then were asked to rate their arousal. Also during the study, there were hooked to machines measuring their erections.

On average, men were able to control their response when asked, resulting in about a 25% decrease in erectile response. One scientist notes that "This is consistent with success rates from previous, well-controlled [measuring-device] faking studies in which success rates range from 26 to 38 percent." Men who were able to control themselves when watching porn videos also able to do so while watching Mitch Hedberg.

“The finding that was most surprising was that some men became more sexually aroused when they tried to regulate their sexual arousal,” Winters says. “In other words, they responded more strongly (both physiologically and self-reported) during trials in which they attempted to regulate their arousal than trials during which they merely watched the stimuli. We attributed this increased response to anxiety — in this case, demand anxiety. It’s sort of like when you tell someone not to think of a white elephant; those [who] are most anxious during the task have the most trouble not thinking about the white elephant.”

It appeared that the factors that DID NOT affect ability to regulate were:

-sexual experience

-sexual compulsivity

-age

However, the following factors DID affect it:

-sexual excitability

-desire

-inhibition

So the next time girls, when they say "I can't help it!" just go "Maybe you aren't trying hard enough!!"