It doesn't. At all. When you're intoxicated, you're also relaxed, most of the time. You're not exercising self control. Adrenaline helps to focus your mind on one thing. It doesn't sober you up at all. You're just drunk and focused.

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Why that almost seems worse.

So I guess my question is, does adrenaline increase focus, and if so, is its "benefit" lessened by the effects of alcohol?

keep in mind, intoxicated people are easily influenced. that includes overestimating their own sobriety.

So they think "OMG that sobered me up", when in fact, their reflexes and judgement are just as bad, they just convinced themselves that they werent.

Though to some extent, you can "lean into" being drunk if you want, or lean out.

The parts of the brain effected by adrenaline are parts related to immediate survival.

It is like giving a surge to your drunk brain so that you can temporarily not die, but it doesn't rid you of your drunkeness at all, it just gives you a chance to fight off your attacker, or whatever is happening.

This is what I figured. I've been in situations where you immediately feel "sober". Would it be fair to say that that feeling is just your brain saying "We need to focus on this thing and only this thing right now"?

According to the previous answer, I would say yes and yes.

Adrenaline puts you into "go" mode, but being drunk still means you will be dizzy and numb.

It would be like taking panadol to deal with heartburn/acid reflux.

Its kind of like being hijacked.

Adrenaline is a hormone with incredible "go go go" power, so let's pretend your brain is a car.

When you are drunk, the driver (you) is just slowly cruising along, swaying around, minding their own business, but oh no! A truck is heading straight for you.

Suddenly you passenger, adrenaline, sees you don't know what the fuck you are doing, so they yell in your face to step on the gas, grab the wheel from you and swerv you out of the way to safety.

After the danger has passed and you both quit shitting your pants from fear, you both chill out again and you can resume swaying slowly down the road like the drunk monkey you are.

Make sense?

It does, and I love a good, clear metaphor.

Thank you.

No worries, happy to help.

Hmm yes it does. Alcohol is a depressant, meaning it gets in the way of your nerves firing so you gonna be less coordinated than you normally would. A big rush of adrenaline is going to act as a stimulant, it helps carry messages from one nerve to another, so in that sense yes, it will mitigate some of the effects of alcohol. It's your fight or flight response kicking in to get you out of a dangerous situation. So yes, in some ways it will boost your motor skills temporarily. It will also boost your heart rate and blood pressure, so you will have more blood passing through your liver and kidneys per minute so it may very mildly help you to filter more alcohol from your system.

But that being said, all that alcohol you drank is still in your system. It has not actually sobred you at all. In five minutes when the adrenaline wears off your gonna be back to your stumbly poor decision making self.

So you're telling me that I don't actually sound like Frank Sinatra on the karaoke after a few beers?

As long as nobody records it, you sounded every bit as good as you remember!

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Literally just did an exam on this in uni today so i will try my best here...

1. alcohol affects a part of the brain responsible for fine motor skills, hence why we get 'sloppy' when we drink i.e slurred speech, staggered walking etc.

2. adrenaline (and noradrenaline/epinephrine/norepinephrine) is a neurotransmitter (NT) released by something in your body called the 'sympathetic nervous system' (SNS).

The SNS is your fight/flight response. If you see something that requires tou to activate this system, such as a fight or you see someone in need of medical care while you're drunk, adrenaline is released.

Adrenaline is a very short lived neurotransmitter. It doesn't hang around for long (typically), enough to get you to safety either by punching your way there or running.

Adrenaline is a super powerful NT and overrides the relaxed/sloppy state you're in by allowing you to be hyper alert of your surroundings and energised.

Once your body no longer needs the use of the SNS, you will usually experience an 'adrenaline dump' in which you may cry, feel very exhausted and weak or feel like your sloppy old drunk self again.

TLDR Adrenaline et al doesn't sober you up, it just makes you hyper alert thanks to fight/flight.

P.s somewhat unrelated, incase you've ever wondered about 'breaking the seal' while drinking... Alcohol ibhibits the production of a hormone called ADH (Anti diuretic hormone). ADH is used in the body to retain water so you don't dehydrate. Alcohol stops this hormone being produced so you pee... A lot... And its very clear. Its not clear cos you're 'hydrated' its clear cos your body is dumping all the water out of you as nothing is telling it to retain it. #funfact.

This is the kind of finer, detailed background I was looking for. Thank you!

Also that bonus info is something literally everybody notices (not understands) about heavy drinking.

I was in the military where every bathroom as a urine color chart about dehydration, so it has always struck me, knowing that you tend to become dehydrated after a long night of drinking, but urine color is typically clear DURING the binge.

Super helpful!

Oh and good luck with your academia!

The alcohol doesn’t usually do that it’s usually the powder substance some sketchy dude in the bathroom offers you

Coke bros do love to share for some reason.

Always trying to share. Like they enjoy sharing it more than actually doing it Lol

No worries! Any other nervous system questions feel free to drop me a dm 😂 its always good for me to practice.

There’s new buzz in the psych field that alcohol has a paradoxical effect on some people with specific genes whereby alcohol doesn’t have a sedative effect and, instead, has a stimulating effect.

I have seen people sobered up after an incident ( we were at a party, chillin drinking and suddenly a 600lbs concrete plate slided onto the leg of one of the guests.

They were sitting on top of it and it moved towards left,as the weight on one side was too much, they could jump into safety but one was not fast enough, the plate landed on his leg, below the kneecap.

All the other guests 20+ have sobered up in 3 seconds, they lifted the plate and the guy was taken to the hospital. His fibula bone was shattered to three pieces

And as long as you never meet anyone there.

Dude got lucky as hell, then. Would've figured the aftermath of a 600 lb concrete slab to the leg was bone confetti.

Just to be clear, the adrenaline does NOT improve your balance, coordination, reflexes, or judgement.

It doesn't do that under normal circumstances either. It's not a "skilled action" hormone. It just takes all the safeties off your normal systems. Heart rate and respiration spike, oxygenated blood is shunted to skeletal muscle and away from non-survival-essential equipment (like your forebrain and digestive system).

You might lift a car off somebody, but you may not be able to get the safety off on a firearm or get a key into a lock. You could also pull so hard that you tear muscles and tendons in your own limbs. That increase in HR and respiration can result in passing out from hyperventilation.

It will still do all that while you're drunk, but the fine motor coordination issue will be even worse, sensory feedback will be even duller (increasing injury potential), and god help you if you need to make any decisions.

Don't worry, Frank thought the same way.

Do the people for whom this applies also suffer the paradoxical effect of being made sleepy by coffee?

I honestly have no idea. I’m assuming there’s a link there, too. There’s 7 billion different human makeups last I checked so there’s going to be some variety. Coffee definitely makes me sleepy sometimes, too. I’m also one of the unfortunate folks who have a stimulating effect from most alcohol.

Probably not, they work on unrelated areas/receptors.

It slided onto the leg and not fell onto

Still. A 600 lb block that’s barely moving still has a lot of momentum to it