Carlos Solis
Humanity has a long history with alcohol. Over time, many myths about alcoholic beverages have emerged. Here are just a few of the most common ones that researchers have debunked.
Myth 1: The order of drinking alcoholic beverages matters
Fans of the “green snake” believe that the order in which they consume different alcoholic drinks can prevent quick intoxication and avoid hangovers. However, this theory lacks scientific backing.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (USA) has called the idea that the sequence of drinks matters a myth. “In general, the more alcohol a person drinks, the worse the hangover will be. And this does not depend on whether they drink beer, wine, or spirits in a particular order,” experts said.
Researchers from Witten/Herdecke University (Germany) conducted a study in which different groups of participants drank one type of alcoholic beverage followed by another, and vice versa. In control groups, participants consumed only one type of drink, as reported by Popular Science. The study found that hangover severity did not depend on the order of consumption.
Myth 2: Alcohol warms you up
Many people say they feel warmth spreading through their bodies after drinking. But that sensation doesn’t mean alcohol actually raises your core temperature.
Dr. Krishna Vakharia from the UK studied the effects of alcohol on body temperature. He found that while “flushed cheeks, sweating, and hot flashes create a feeling of warmth, the body temperature actually decreases.”
Researchers at the Advanced Research Center in Humanities at Waseda University in Japan reached a similar conclusion: alcohol lowers body temperature. Participants in their study consumed alcohol “in a moderately warm room.” The scientists observed that “blood flow to the skin and sweating intensity in the chest area significantly increased within 10 minutes after starting to drink alcohol.”
Something else happened afterward: “Core body temperature during the alcohol consumption session began to drop 20 minutes after sweating started and ultimately decreased by 0.3 °C,” the researchers stated.
In other words, alcohol releases heat from the body—the very heat you want to keep in, especially in cold weather. Find another way to warm up.
Myth 3: Coffee is a sobriety friend
Coffee may perk you up, but it doesn’t reduce the effects of alcohol. In a study conducted by Boston University (USA), 127 participants were randomly assigned to drink one of four types of beer: non-alcoholic beer, non-alcoholic beer with caffeine, alcoholic beer without caffeine, or alcoholic beer with caffeine. They then attempted to operate a driving simulator.
The researchers concluded: “Adding caffeine to alcohol does not improve driving ability, attention, or reaction time.”
A cup of coffee might give a slight alertness boost after a few drinks, but it won’t sober you up. Only time eliminates alcohol from your system.
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