TIME Dating

This Is Exactly How Much You Need to Drink to Seem More Attractive, Backed by Science

healthiest foods, health food, diet, nutrition, time.com stock, red wine, alcohol
Photograph by Danny Kim for TIME; Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME

No more, no less

Want to seem more attractive to the opposite sex? Drink one — exactly one — very large glass of wine.

That’s what a recent study by a group of researchers at the University of Bristol’s School of Psychology, published in Science Daily, suggests.

The researchers asked 40 heterosexual men and women, divided equally between both genders, to complete an attractiveness-rating exercise. The volunteers were then shown two images of a person, one taken while the subject was sober, one after the subject had consumed 250 ml of wine (equivalent to a very large glass), and one after 500 ml of wine (two-thirds of a bottle) had been consumed.

The photos of those who drank 250 ml wine were rated as more attractive, followed by images of sober subjects. The photos of those who had drank 500 ml were considered least attractive.

The researchers attributed this to the increased facial flushing that comes with consuming low amounts of alcohol, along with additional muscle relaxation and subtle smiles that portray a heightened positive mood.

One more good reason to drink in moderation.

[Science Daily]

See the Most Memorable On-Screen Couples

Clark Gable And Claudette Colbert In 'It Happened One Night' Rhett And Scarlett Cary Grant And Rosalind Russell In 'His Girl Friday' Casablanca Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Debbie Reynolds And Gene Kelly In 'Singin' In The Rain' Richard Beymer And Natalie Wood In 'West Side Story' Breakfast At Tiffany's Redford & Streisand In 'The Way We Were' Grease Cheers Patrick Swayze And Jennifer Grey In 'Dirty Dancing' MCDPRBR FE003 When Harry Met Sally Richard Gere And Julia Roberts In 'Pretty Woman' MSDBEAN EC007 *NSYNC in Concert, Backstage MSDFOGU EC011 Friends ER Leonardo DiCaprio And Kate Winslet In 'Titanic' Sex and the City Heath Ledger And Julia Stiles In '10 Things I Hate About You' MCDNOTE EC018 MCDBRMO EC044 MCDFIHU FS006
Tap to read full story

Your browser is out of date. Please update your browser at http://update.microsoft.com


YOU BROKE TIME.COM!

Dear TIME Reader,

As a regular visitor to TIME.com, we are sure you enjoy all the great journalism created by our editors and reporters. Great journalism has great value, and it costs money to make it. One of the main ways we cover our costs is through advertising.

The use of software that blocks ads limits our ability to provide you with the journalism you enjoy. Consider turning your Ad Blocker off so that we can continue to provide the world class journalism you have become accustomed to.

The TIME Team