Alcohol and cold weather

Alcohol and cold weather can be a dangerous combination. Take extra care and stay safe when you’re drinking when the weather is cold.

The risk of hypothermia means being exposed to cold weather can be dangerous in its own right.¹ Drinking alcohol can add to the risks, because of the way it affects your decision making and temperature regulation.

Alcohol and warmth: the big misconception

Alcohol can make you think that you’re warm, even when you’re not.

There’s a couple of reasons for this:

Drinking alcohol makes blood vessels near your skin open up, with more blood flowing into them and creating a feeling of warmth on your skin.² But the blood being diverted away from your vital central organs can cause your core temperature to drop – something which, left unchecked, can lead to hypothermia.³
Alcohol reduces your perception of cold air temperatures and can also lessen some of the natural responses designed to help you stay warm, like shivering.^4,5 This ‘beer jacket’ response can put you at greater risk from cold weather.

The dangers of alcohol and cold weather

Alcohol impairs your decision-making ability - you might take risks you wouldn’t when sober.⁶ The combination of drinking alcohol and cold weather can be lethal. For example, taking the decision to walk home without a jacket when it’s snowing could lead to a dramatic fall in your body temperature, leading to hypothermia.⁷ And severe hypothermia can be fatal if not identified and treated promptly.

During cold weather, staying warm is vital. Normal body temperature is around 37 degrees centigrade – if your body temperature drops below 35C, it means you have hypothermia - a medical emergency that needs to be treated in hospital.

Drinking also affects our balance and our ability to judge our surroundings,⁸ which makes tripping or falling over more common, especially with icy pavements.

Prevent alcohol-related accidents

How to stay safe

Knowing how you’re getting home, sticking with friends, and wearing warm clothes and sensible footwear will help to ensure you have a safe night out.

Sticking to the UK Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines can keep your health risks from alcohol low. That means – for both men and women - no more than 14 units of alcohol a week, spread over three or more days with several drink-free days, and no bingeing.

Is your drinking high risk? Take the Drinking Check to find out

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References

[1] NHS Website. Hypothermia (9 June 2023). [Accessed 11 June 2024]

[2] Whayne, T. F. (2020). Alcohol Excess Is an Insufficiently Considered Cause of Malignant Refractory Hypertension. Angiology, 71(4), 297–300

[3] Chikritzhs, T., & Livingston, M. (2021). Alcohol and the Risk of Injury. Nutrients, 13(8), 2777.

[4] Yoda T, Crawshaw LI, Saito K, Nakamura M, Nagashima K, Kanosue K. Effects of alcohol on autonomic responses and thermal sensation during cold exposure in humans. Alcohol. 2008 May;42(3):207-12

[5] Blaner, W. S., Gao, M. A., Jiang, H., Dalmer, T. R. A., Hu, X. J., Ginsberg, H. N., & Clugston, R. D. (2017). Chronic alcohol consumption decreases brown adipose tissue mass and disrupts thermoregulation: A possible role for altered retinoid signaling. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 43474.

[6] Davis-Stober, C. P., McCarty, K. N., & McCarthy, D. M. (2019). Decision Making and Alcohol: Health Policy Implications. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 6(1), 64–71.

[7] Schreurs, C.J., Van Hoof, J.J. and Van Der Lely, N. (2017). Hypothermia and acute alcohol intoxication in Dutch adolescents: The relationship between core and outdoor temperatures. Journal of Substance Use, 22(4), 449-453.

[8] Marczinski, C. A., Fillmore, M. T., Stamates, A. L., & Maloney, S. (2018). Alcohol-induced impairment of balance is antagonized by energy drinks. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 42(1), 144–152.