On a cold winter night it may feel like a shot of alcohol is the next best thing to a warm coat – but research has proven that the opposite is true – and alcohol can actually decrease core body temperature.

Dr. Randall Packer, the deputy chair of the department of biological sciences, explained how alcohol can trick your body into leaving those gloves and scarves at home.

“Alcohol causes a dilation of the capillaries – or blood vessels – in the skin,” he said. “This dilation increases the temperature of the skin which makes you feel warm while, at the same time, increasing the rate of heat loss.”

A study conducted by Dr. William G. Haynes of the University of Iowa in 2000 showed that when someone sober enters a cold environment, blood recedes to the central core to keep the internal organs functioning properly. Blood then leaves the extremities and skin – causing the fingers and toes to get stiff and chilled – and making the skin feel cold to the touch.

But when alcohol is consumed, the dilation of blood vessels counteracts this reaction and pulls the blood back to the outer layers of the skin, while leaving the core organs to get cold, according to the study. In other words, being drunk decreases your core body temperature.

The study showed that heat is lost through the skin so when the majority of body heat is held in the skin instead of in the internal organs – as is the case when consuming alcohol – more heat will escape to the cold.

“This phenomenon, in combination with the impairment of judgment and feel-no-pain attitude typically associated with alcohol consumption, (makes) it easy to become hypothermic,” Packer said.

Senior Gina Bellantoni said she remembers forgoing warmth for fashion during her previous years at GW.

“When I was young, like freshman and sophomore year, I would just run outside and get a cab.”

Bellantoni, who used to refer to alcohol as her “beer jacket,” said she has learned her lesson and always opts to pay the extra money to check her coat at bars.

“You need to wear a coat. It’s freezing out and your arms get all red.”

Leah Carliner contributed to this report.