Beer Saves Drunken Swimmer In Freezing Sea; Drink Kept Man's Body Temperature Up
After a night of drinking, two men from the U.K. decided it was a good idea to jump into the frigid water off Herne Bay in Kent, England. According to rescuers who pulled the identified men to safety, eight beers that one man drank prior to his ill-advised swimming adventure may have saved his life by regulating his body temperature.
"He had had eight cans of beer,” Matt Stickels, coastguard deputy station manager, told the Daily Star. “The paramedics said that it probably kept him alive because his body had slowed down so much that it might have helped him."
While one of the men was brought to safety by way of a life ring, the other lost consciousness and floated down the bay. Stickels said both men were very cold after spending 45 minutes in the water’s freezing climate. Temperatures at Herne Bay have been at an average of 55°F since last week.
“Police and lifeguards were called and the first man got out of the water. He was probably turning hypothermic and was very cold,” onlooker Michelle Cooper told the Daily Mail. “It was very, very silly, but hopefully it will show young boys that something dramatic can happen when you jump off the pier. Both were grown men who should have known better than to do things like that.”
Various studies recently published by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism have set out to determine alcohol’s effect on body temperature. Results indicate that alcohol consumption heavily influences the body’s circadian rhythm, which, in turn, controls certain behavioral and physiological parameters including sleep, hormones, and body temperature.
Acute alcohol administration, alcohol withdrawal, and antidepressant drugs can effectively raise nocturnal body temperature. Alcohol’s effect on circadian rhythm patterns can also delay temperature rhythm shifts, keeping body heat up.