Fact:

While many could probably attest to this feeling of warmth that they gain when drinking alcohol in the winter time, this is only an impression that our body gives when in reality it is actually getting colder. This means that while drinking alcohol makes us feel warmer, our body temperature is actually decreasing. In the first instance, alcohol makes us feel warm because it dilates our blood vessels, which causes blood to move closer to the skin.

Normally, our bodies feel cold when blood moves away from our limbs- and therefore away from our skin- and towards internal organs. This happens for example after we have eaten, and blood is concentrated around the digestive system. Alcohol works the other way around by causing blood to move towards the skin instead. This movement causes a drop in body temperature, as the heat is lost during the process. It is important to note that this drop is also indifferent to outside temperature, meaning the alcohol will affect our body’s temperature the same way anytime.

Alcohol also affects the body’s temperature in other ways. After a certain amount of alcohol, the body responds to the warmth created by this flow of blood to the extremities through sweating. Sweating in turn contributes to a further decline in temperature. Moreover, a bodily reflex such as shivering, which is usually employed as a mechanism to create warmth, is reversed after drinking. When the body’s ability to shiver is reduced, it also becomes colder.

It appears therefore that traditional heating appliances and thick clothing are irreplaceable. The instant warm and fuzzy feeling we attain after a drink or two will quickly subside and our body’s ability to adapt to the cold will only be hindered.