You do not need to drink to feel the effects of alcohol.
The next time you go to the bar and decide not to drink, you may want to cover your nose. According to a new study, the aroma of alcohol being consumed can affect you, even if you don’t taste a drop.
The study, published in the journal Psychopharmacology, found that simply smelling alcohol can decrease your inhibitions and make you feel slightly drunk .
To test how a whiskey sniff could impact our brains and behavior, a team of researchers had a group of participants wear masks that had previously been treated with an alcoholic beverage or an alcohol- free citrus solution , while they were being studied. of impulses during a computerized test.
All participants were asked to press a button when they saw the letter? K? or when you see the image of a beer bottle flashing on the screen.
It seems easy, but those who inhaled alcohol failed the most by pressing the button. In other words, they showed poor control of their impulses.
Obviously, you will not get drunk by smelling alcohol anymore.
However, the results suggest that you may decide to drink more (or drink when you planned not to), simply because the smell of alcohol has decreased your ability to control yourself.