What Actually Happens When You Combine Alcohol and Caffeine?
03/18/2019
Both alcohol and caffeine can cause a temporary increase in heart rate and blood pressure. Does that mean that if you drink both alcohol and caffeine at the same time, your heart rate and blood pressure could increase more when you consume them separately?
Susan Stoner, PhD, a research consultant at the UW Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute tells SELF Magazine there does not appear to be a synergistic effect here, meaning there’s no special interaction between alcohol and caffeine that exponentially increases the effects of the other.
Basically: the effects of drinking alcohol and caffeine together shouldn’t be greater than the sum of the two combined. But if you’re drinking enough alcohol or caffeine to already experience ill effects on your heart, adding the other can make it worse.
