--- title: "People Who Take Magic Mushrooms Have Better Sex, Scientists Find" description: "A new study suggests that the sex lives of psilocybin-eaters may improve even after the magic mushrooms have worn off." date: "2024-02-10" modified: "2024-02-10" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/psilocybin-mushrooms-sex" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Studies" tags: - "psilocybin" - "psychedelics" - "sex" - "the digest" --- # People Who Take Magic Mushrooms Have Better Sex, Scientists Find ![]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* Along with their bedfellow rock n' roll, sex and drugs have always paired famously well. But as a new study suggests, the sex lives of shroom-eaters may improve, even after they've worn off. In a [press release](), Imperial College London announced a new study they claim is the first known academic inquiry into how psychedelics can affect sex. The study found that people who took magic mushrooms for a variety of reasons self-reported improved sexual conditions for weeks — and even *months* — after tripping. Published in the [journal *Nature Scientific Reports*](), the paper explains that on average, study participants reported an increase in multiple facets of sexual functioning, including arousal, enjoyment, satisfaction, attraction, and sense of connection with sexual partners. Combining groups of people who took psilocybin for recreational, ceremonial, and mental health purposes, researchers at the school's Centre for Psychedelic Research gave self-reported sexual experience questionnaires to 261 people once before and twice after taking the drug, at four weeks post-trip, and six months. Fascinatingly, nearly half of the 59 participants who took psilocybin for depression in a clinical trial, in particular, said their arousal and interest in sex increased — a pretty huge result, considering that antidepressant medications are well-known for [decreasing libido and ability to achieve orgasm](). What's more: The improved sexual functioning effects seemed sustained for up to six months in some of the participants. "The most significant improvements," the Imperial College press release reads, "were in sexual pleasure, satisfaction with their own appearance, satisfaction and communication with their partner, as well as perceiving sex as a 'spiritual experience.'" Though there's long been [anecdata]() about how it feels to have sex *on* drugs, this study is novel. Not just for taking a clinical approach to the relationship between the two, but also, because it focuses on the aftermath, if you will, of psychedelics. Tomasso Barba, an Imperial College PhD student and the study's first co-author, said in the press release that there could be some major implications from the group's findings — especially when it comes to the intersection of sex and mental health. "Our findings suggest potential implications for conditions that negatively affect sexual health, including clinical depression and anxiety," Barba said. "This is particularly significant given that sexual dysfunction, often induced by antidepressants, frequently results in people stopping these medications and subsequently relapsing. "It’s important to stress our work does not focus on what happens to sexual functioning while people are on psychedelics, and we are not talking about perceived 'sexual performance,'" the researcher continued, "but it does indicate there may be a lasting positive impact on sexual functioning after their psychedelic experience, which could potentially have impacts on psychological wellbeing." With Valentine's Day just around the corner, it might be time to swap those drugstore chocolates for some with mushrooms inside them — but don't expect *immediate* results. **More on sex studies:** [*Controversial New Research Find That Bisexuals Are a Bunch of Rascals*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()