There is a common belief that drinking coffee can help to sober someone who has been drinking too much alcohol. According to a mouse study summarized in the Science Daily, a cup of coffee may actually just make it harder for people to realize when they are drunk. This post also highlights that the popular “alcohol-energy” drinks do not neutralize alcohol intoxication, as some claim to do.

“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,” said co-author Thomas Gould, PhD, of Temple University. “People who have consumed only alcohol, who feel tired and intoxicated, may be more likely to acknowledge that they are drunk.”

In this study – which focused its research activities on mice – found that caffeine made the mice more alert but did not reverse the learning problems the alcohol caused. In fact, the mice were unable to avoid things they should have known could hurt them.

In the testing process, young adult mice were given various doses of caffeine and ethanol at levels known to induce intoxication. Three aspects of behavior were then tested, including the ability to learn which part of the maze to avoid; anxiety; and general locomotion.

The ethanol increased locomotion and reduced anxiety and learning in direct proportion to the dose given. When given alone, caffeine increased anxiety and reduced both learning and locomotion. Overall, mice given caffeine were significantly more inhibited, less mobile and less savvy about avoiding the unpleasant stimuli.

When ethanol and caffeine were given together, ethanol blocked caffeine’s ability to make the mice more anxious. Caffeine did not reverse ethanol’s negative effect on learning. Alcohol calmed the caffeine jitters, leaving the mice more relaxed but less able to avoid threats.

“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,” Gould concluded.