Let’s be honest with ourselves for a moment: there is no way in H-E-double-hockey-sticks that we’d give up drinking for a diet (except for in extreme cases in which our wellbeing would be seriously at stake). Calories, shmalories, we say. If we want to sip on a delicious drink and relax while we’re at it, than you better bet we will. However, if your values happen to align differently, you may be looking for a way to cheat the system, without losing your wild Friday nights.
Did your ears just perk up? Well get a load of this: scientists have recently discovered that “alcohol-related olfactory cues may impede response inhibition.” Or, for those of you who aren’t scientifically inclined, smelling alcohol can get you drunk.
Researchers at Edge Hill University in the UK discovered this after conducting experiments on 40 subjects that involved alcohol-treated face masks, followed by response time and impulse control tests. They found that subjects who had been exposed to the alcohol-treated face masks scored lower scores on these tests. However, not only can the smell get you tipsy, they also found that it increased the subjects craving and desire for alcohol. So, if you’re excited by the low-calorie count on this streamlined train to drunksville, make sure you don’t down a six pack when you get there.