Party like a Rock Star to ring in the New Year usually means lots of alcohol but many more are adding caffeine to the mix to “party stronger-party longer.” Rum and coke has always been around but new friends like red bull and vodka and even premixed alcoholic energy drinks are the rage. A new study in the journal Behavioral Neuroscience shows that mixing the two may be much more dangerous than you think.

Alcohol is a depressant so people usually stop drinking when they feel too drunk or too tired. Caffeine added takes away the perception of being drunk so one may continue to drink. You really don’t sober up with a cup of coffee, you just may feel more alert so you take on more risks and still perform poorly as tested by University of Kentucky researcher, Mark Fillmore

In a recent study in the Journal of Behavioral Neuroscience, scientists gave groups of young adult mice alcohol alone to cause intoxication, caffeine alone in the equivalent of one up to six or eight cups of coffee for humans and a combination of both.

They looked at 3 functions:

Learning, Anxiety and Locomotion

Together, alcohol calmed the caffeine jitters or decreased anxiety but learning was impaired so the mice were less able to avoid threats. The authors speculated that the alcohol caffeine combo would only fuel the belief that one was not drunk when in fact they were and have greater problems functioning.

What are the proven risks of mixing alcohol and caffeine in people?

Researchers at Wake Forest University found that students who mix caffeine and alcohol were

1) Twice as likely to get injured or hurt

2) Twice as likely to require medical attention

3) Twice as likely to ride with a drunk driver

4) Twice as likely to take advantage of someone else sexually

5) More than twice as likely to be taken advantage of sexually

Caffeine and Alcohol leaves you hanging even more.

People who drink caffeine and alcohol tend to drink more alcohol for longer periods of time but there are other reasons why your hangover will be worse. Both are diuretics, leading to dehydration, which is major source of the hangover. Both caffeine and alcohol irritate the lining of the stomach, producing more acid reflux and feelings of nausea. Alcohol is a depressant, but causes poor sleep so the added caffeine will make it even more difficult to sleep and harder to recover.

How has the FDA acted on these risks?

The Food and Drug Administration is looking into the safety and legality of combination alcohol-caffeine beverages. The FDA has only approved caffeine as an additive in soft drinks and has not approved adding caffeine at any level to alcoholic beverages. Under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, a substance added intentionally to food (such as caffeine in alcoholic beverages) is deemed unsafe and is unlawful unless its particular use has been approved by FDA regulation or is generally recognized as safe.

In November, the FDA sent letters to 30 manufacturers of caffeinated alcoholic beverages to provide scientific evidence that these products are safe. Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors pulled caffeine from their popular drinks Sparks and Tilt last year.

Want to find out how much caffeine is in a beverage? Check out my previous blog, “What’s the buzz.“

I am sure that I will not be the only one having a tough time staying awake to party in the New Year and little caffeine may be required. Please remember, caffeine does not sober you up so plan ahead. Alcohol clouds judgment, so even if you ”feel fine” remember that you are not making good decisions after drinking so don’t drive with someone who has been drinking or put yourself in risky situations. Hydrate with water and have a fun and safe New Year!

Dr. Deb