Even half a beer can compromise your driving skills: NASA study

Dec 27, 2020 12:21 IST

If you thought one or two drinks won't affect your driving skills, this study will make you think again! For the first time, research has found that hand-eye coordination is compromised after consuming the equivalent of less than half of beer, for a person around 75 kilograms in weight. The findings from the research team based at NASA's Ames Research Center provide new information on the potential impact of even minimal alcohol consumption on high-risk human activities that rely on keen visual and visuomotor control, like driving, piloting, or working heavy machinery. The participants in the study were men and women, mostly in their 20s, who drink on average 1-2 drinks per week but the study did not look at the impact of age on drinking habits. Participants were asked to get a full night's sleep the night before the trial and were asked to abstain from both alcohol and caffeine consumption for several nights in a row prior to testing. In a paper published in The Journal of Physiology, the lead researcher said, 'most people feel they are unimpaired after one drink, yet they are to a significant degree.'