“Drink some coffee, it’ll sober you up.” is a mantra we’ve all heard at some point. But the question remains…does drinking coffee sober a drunk person up?
In case you haven’t read the latest issue of Behavioral Neuroscience, let me summarize what researchers found about coffee’s (or caffeine’s) ability to make a drunk person sober, or at least less drunk.
Dr Clay’s No-Nonsense, Tell-It-Like-It-Is Summary:
Consuming caffeine (i.e. coffee, red bull) when you’re drunk will make you feel more alert, but you’ll still be just as drunk and just as likely to act stupid and/or not remember stuff. So basically you’ll be an awake drunk who thinks he’s sober…but isn’t. I suspect this will make you even more annoying to be around…but that’s just my hunch.
Coffee won't fix HIS problems!
Dr Thomas Gould, PhD of Temple University was the lead researcher in this study and here’s some of what he had to say (which is a tad more eloquent than my sinopsis above).
- “coffee may reduce the sedative effects of alcohol, which could give the false impression that people are not as intoxicated as they really are.”
- “may increase alertness during intoxication, and decrease the awareness of intoxication, there may be no equivalent rescue of learning. Thus, drinkers may consumer more alcohol when they are also consuming caffeine.”
- “People who have consumed only alcohol, who feel tired and intoxicated, may be more likely to acknowledge that they are drunk.”
- “The bottom line is that, despite the appeal of being able to stay up all night and drink, all evidence points to serious risks associated with caffeine-alcohol combinations,”
To read more about this interesting, if even not surprising, study check out the article Drunk? Coffee Won’t Get You Sober.
If you’re going to partake in some adult beverages this holiday season, PLEASE do so responsibly!
Yours in health and fitness,
Dr Clay
