Does alcohol really warm you up?

Alcohol creates a feeling of warmth, but it does not raise your body temperature. The sources agree that the warmth is a sensation on the skin, while heat is in fact being lost from the body's core. Winston Morgan, a toxicology professor at the University of East London, told The Guardian: there is a perception of warmth, but in reality it does not occur. [1] [2]

Alcohol acts as a vasodilator, meaning it widens blood vessels near the skin. More warm blood flows close to the surface, which can make you feel warm, flush and sweat. Michael Tipton, a professor of human and applied physiology, says this raises skin temperature and makes you feel warm. Normally the body uses the same response to shed heat when it is too hot, with the hypothalamus in the brain coordinating it. [3] [1] [4]

Moving blood to the skin draws heat away from the core, where the heart, organs and brain are. The Cleveland Clinic's Thomas Waters compares it to turning on a radiator that sends your heat into the environment. The NIAAA adds that alcohol also depresses the part of the brain that controls temperature regulation. Drinkaware says alcohol can reduce your perception of cold and lessen natural responses such as shivering. [4] [2] [5]

Tipton notes that in very cold air or cold water, the strong cold signals at the skin can override alcohol's effect and shut down skin blood flow. In cool air, however, the heat loss can lower deep body temperature. Patient.info says that in a warm environment the heat loss is unlikely to cause health concerns. [3]

Hypothermia is defined by Drinkaware as a body temperature below 35C, compared with a normal level of around 37C, and it is a medical emergency. Judgment matters as well as physiology: feeling warm may lead people to remove a jacket or gloves, and alcohol may make people more willing to take risks such as walking a long way in snow. The Cleveland Clinic's Waters says getting wet makes you lose heat 25 times faster. [5] [4]

Patient.info cites a study of intoxicated adolescents in which 26.6% had mild hypothermia in winter, compared with 18.0% in summer. It also notes that people sleeping rough in winter, where alcohol addiction is common, are particularly vulnerable. [3]

The Cleveland Clinic notes that sending blood to the skin may help prevent frostbite in the fingers, but at the cost of the core. It also warns that people with heart problems face added risks, including a faster heart rate and arrhythmias. [4]