Scientific reason people will cheat on partners at Glastonbury

Glastonbury has been declared the "perfect environment" for cheating to take place - as over 200,000 people prepare to descend on the five-day festival this week. Sex and relationships expert at Illicitencounters.com ^[1], Jessica Leoni, said the potent mix of alcohol, huge crowds, music, nostalgia and being in a remote location all contribute to a surge in cheating.

The festival cheating phenomenon can even be put down to "evolutionary biology and chemical reactions", Leoni said. She added: "Live music can release high levels of dopamine and stimulate other feel-good chemicals like Vasopressin.

"The former has a long association with pleasure and works on the reward centre of the brain. High levels of this love drug are also linked to attraction and feeling sexy - which can fuel cheating."

Dr Diana Kirschner, said: "At festivals, your body experiences this whole-new-world emotion as a rush of adrenaline, the hormone your body creates in response to your primal “fight or flight” stress response. This feeling of adrenaline can easily be confused for a romantic rush or thrill."

Glasto is the pinnacle of the British festival season, and partners shipping off their other half should be warned, says Leoni.

In a new poll from llicitencounters.com ^[2], 46% of its members admitted to cheating on their partner at a festival. Of the 2,000 polled, 57% cited "getting caught up in the moment" as the reason for their tryst. 11% admitted to cheating with multiple people at the same festival.

And it seems the infamous festival portaloo isn’t an issue for those cheaters – with 21% admitting to getting frisky in a cubicle, while 34% said ‘in a tent” and 22% said “whilst in the crowd”.

Leoni added: "Forget the Chemical Brothers, its naturally occurring chemicals in the human brain that sparks cheating frenzies at festivals. Combine that with alcohol, and a lot of festival goers having limited access to their phones, so no nagging spouses, then we can predict with some confidence that cheating will take centre stage at Glasto this week."

References

^{^} Illicitencounters.com (go.skimresources.com)
^{^} llicitencounters.com (go.skimresources.com)