Why you should drink less alcohol

if you're looking for love

Look, going on a date is so incredibly exciting that it quickly seems like the only solution: to down that huge glass of wine. As quickly as possible. ‘Bartender, bartender, hey, another round, please.’

Yet, it turns out you’d better not drink too much when looking for love. Because when you're pleasantly tipsy and you order your sixth rosé without too much embarrassment, you might not assess everything as well, and thus you also don't really know if he is actually super fun. If you both have had a drink, it seems more like there’s a ‘click’ and that it relationship material is, while this doesn’t necessarily have to be the case.

We can learn something from this, as research shows that no less than 48.9 percent of people order an alcoholic drink during a date. And not only that: another 36.4 percent of singles pour themselves a drink at home before meeting their potential flame. In other words: a drink for the nerves. Just to take that tension off your shoulders. Yes, of course, that seems smart. But certainly 19 percent of men and 16 percent of women say they get drunk during a first date, and that seems a bit less smart.

You’re just making it harder for yourself. You might remember the whole evening less well, you could be completely missing parts of the evening (hello, black hole) and thus you also don’t know if it was a successful evening or just kind of meh. Were you drunk because it was secretly boring and you were trying to save the situation with those tequilas as dessert, or were you drunk because it was such a fun evening that lasted ages and you never wanted to go home? Exactly: you don’t know anymore. And besides: if it led to a sleepover, waking up with a marmot in your throat and nausea from the hangover those damn tequilas too) is not exactly Princess Charming.

Yes, then that diet cola seems pretty sexy, huh?

FACTS

• In Europe, there are an average of 1000 dates every minute.
• Per year, we spend about 404 euros on dating. Mainly on a restaurant and yes, drinks.
• It’s in the air: 84 percent prefer to go on a date in the spring.