From time immemorial, there is a proverb: "What is on the tongue of a drunk, is on the mind of a sober person." This expression is often used to describe situations where drunk people confess things that would normally remain unspoken when sober. But does alcohol really allow us to “spit out” the truth? Recent research on this topic sheds light on this complex aspect of human behavior.
It is believed that a person under the influence of alcohol speaks what he thinks. Everyone knows the proverb: what is on the tongue of a drunk, is on the mind of a sober person. However, this can be argued. Drinking alcohol can change the brain in such a way that people are more likely to express their opinions, but the consequences are not always clear-cut, writes LiveScience.
Alcohol has a reputation as the so-called truth serum. The old Latin proverb In vino veritas, which means "The truth is in the wine", is just one of a number of sayings that perpetuate the idea that alcohol is a kind of truth serum. The phrase is attributed to Pliny the Elder, a Roman scholar, historian and warrior, although similar aphorisms can be traced even further back to ancient Greece. But does booze really make people tell the truth, or do they start to fantasize more. Scientists decided to check it.
And the truth, and fantasies, and nonsense...
Alcohol does make it more likely that we speak our minds. In some cases, this may be true. In other cases, it may be what you believe to be true while intoxicated. When you get sober, you will think and feel differently. Even memory will work differently.
Therefore, the probability that someone will express their opinion after a few drinks is definitely higher. But there is also the possibility that what is said while drunk will not be true when people sober up. Although an extensive Internet search has not yielded any direct research findings on how alcohol affects honesty, studies on the effects of alcohol on personality, emotions, and cognition help support this idea.
For example, a 2017 study described how participants' personalities changed after drinking alcohol. Outside observers noted that the biggest change in the participants' personalities after drinking was that they became much more open with those around them. They talked more and probably talked more about themselves.
Alcohol heightens emotions. Therefore, people laugh more if they spend time in good company, and may cry more after a beer if their affairs are sad. Also, on the one hand, drunk people say what comes to their mind right now, and on the other hand, their thoughts and emotions are distorted, and therefore it is often impossible to take what is said seriously.
