Duh – Coffee Doesn’t Make You Sober

A new study out of Temple University showed that drinking coffee to “sober up” can actually be more harmful because it makes you more alert, yet still drunk.

“The myth about coffee’s sobering powers is particularly important to debunk because the co-use of caffeine and alcohol could actually lead to poor decisions with disastrous outcomes,” say Gould, “People who have consumed only alcohol, who feel tired and intoxicated, may be more likely to acknowledge that they are drunk.” -Thomas Gould, PhD (Temple University)

Gould also points out that coffee may reduce the sedative effects of alcohol, giving someone the false impression that they are not as intoxicated as they really are.

Studies like this make me laugh – not because I think it’s funny – but because it makes me remember the silly things I believed when I was out there drinking. There isn’t an alcoholic out there who hasn’t come up with some laughably useless way to try to seem like they aren’t really drunk.

I could list tons of little and big lies we tell ourselves when we are actively drinking, but my favorite story comes from the time I decided to drink at lunch, then went back to work a little buzzed.  My office mate said, “I smell alcohol.”  Without even thinking I blurted out, “But Vodka doesn’t have any smell!”

Oh boy.

Needless to say, coffee never sobered up anyone, and this study shows even trying that can make the situation worse.

Isn’t it nice to be sober and not have to think about how to get away with drinking?