COFFEE WON'T CURE A HANGOVER

COFFEE ‘NO ANSWER TO DRUNKENNESS’ - CAFFEINE BOOST ALERTNESS, BUT IT WON'T GET YOU SOBER, A STUDY FINDS

PHILADELPHIA (BBC News) - Coffee 'no answer to drunkenness', in fact, it makes it harder for people to realise they are under the influence of alcohol, says experts. Reaching for a mug of coffee may be the worst thing you can do to try to sober up, new research concludes. Downing a cup or two of coffee after a few belts of liquor won't sober you up enough to get you safely behind the wheel of a car, new research concludes. Alcohol may lessen the effects of caffeine, but caffeine doesn't mitigate the impaired decision-making brought on by alcohol, the study found. The findings that alcoholic 'energy' drinks could boost risks from intoxication are also especially important for younger people, to whom many of the new high-octane, alcohol-caffeine combination drinks are marketed, the researchers added.

"Caffeine decreases the sedative effects of alcohol but it doesn't improve cognitive function, which means that decision-making processes may be compromised," said Thomas Gould, co-author of the study published in the current issue of the journal Behavioral Neursocience. "People assume they're not as drunk as they are and the impaired cognition that remains may lead to poor choices and decision-making. And people often drink more when it's a caffeine-alcohol mix." "Caffeine doesn't change blood alcohol levels and it doesn't change things as far as being able to make proper choices, and those can lead to very dire consequences". "There is a folklore that caffeine can sober you up. 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 Dr Gould. "People who feel tired and intoxicated after consuming alcohol may be more likely to acknowledge that they are drunk, and they must avoid consuming caffeine which creates the illusion in intoxicated people that they are alert and competent enough “to handle potentially harmful situations, such as driving while intoxicated or placing themselves in dangerous social situations,” Gould says. So, "Alcohol and coffee are not a good mix," and gulping down coffee won’t sober you up if you’re drunk, but it may make you awake enough to be dangerous, experts conclude.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

The positive aspects of devotional life (yama) are to first find a guru (guru-padasrayas tasmad), follow his instructions and thereby serve the guru and devotees, and engage in daily devotional practices, such as chanting the Holy Names of Krsna on beads, associating with devotees and regularly hearing about the Lord from the devotional scriptures (nityam bhagavata-sevaya). The negative aspect (niyama) requires that one avoid activities unfavorable to devotional service, such as meat eating, intoxication, illicit sex and gambling. Other unfavorable activities to be avoided are association with those not interested in devotion (asat sanga tyaga), avoiding offenses to devotees, the Lord, His Name and anything related to the Lord or His devotees.

Śrīpad Bhāvana Vishnu Mahārāja
Article: “Devotional Principles”
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